many thanks for your answers to date Mike

Hi Mike.

There probably isn't a straight forward solution here unfortunately and it may be a long term project rather than short term.

I have looked at the other answers given (now that you have joined) and they are pretty much what I was going to say. There is the initial outlay of course on the plants but after that, they will spread and gradually cover the area.

Plants to consider?.....quite a few really. Cotoneaster and spreading conifers have been mentioned in the other posts which could work of course.

The easiest option could be this, how about just going with nature and making it into a wild flower meadow. You would only need to cut it once a year at the end of August.

You could have a range of flowers to suit the site, either full sun or part sun. The most important plant to sow here would be Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) which is a parasite. It attaches itself to the roots of the grasses making them lose a significant amount of vigour which in turn would allow the other wild flowers to thrive. In old flower meadows, Yellow Rattle is found and keeps the balance. By leaving the meadow until the end of August before cutting, the Yellow Rattle can seed itself ready for next year.