Hurst water meadow news

January 2001

Buck Pool Spinney 

This is the name the trustees have given to the plots of land, totalling 2.4 acres, between Buck Pool and the bypass. We are about to sign a licence with the owners for access for 'nature conservation, public recreation and angling'. This will give the trustees freedom to manage and improve the site and allow public access. We will not have responsibility for the upkeep of the weir and sluice. This is a satisfactory arrangement, though security of tenure is limited to three years, but renewable. However, we are assured that the owners do not intend to repossess the site.

The relatively short tenure makes fundraising more difficult but we are over half way to our target of £15,010. Much work is needed, to fence the site, clear footpaths, put handrails on the bridges across the weir and sluice and construct a footbridge over the eight-metre flood drain that divides the site. We also intend to commission a Conservation Management Plan from the Northmoor Trust and do some tree surgery, planting and other conservation work in line with their advice.

The appeal to recent residents and charities in March 1999 produced about £3,000, so we can start the work straight away. We have applied to five funding bodies for grants and two have been successful, namely £4,550 from the South Oxfordshire Council and £1,750 from the Shell Better Britain Campaign for which we are very grateful. The footbridge is the most costly item and that cannot be done before next spring or summer, when the water level is low, so giving us time to raise the money. Mr and Mrs Morrison have kindly drawn some very attractive plans for the footbridge. The main span will be steel, but the deck and handrails will be timber.

Clearance of the brambles to make a footpath will be greatly helped by a grant of £569 from the Dorchester on Thames Society to buy a heavy-duty strimmer and safety equipment. This will also be useful for keeping the stile and kissing gate free of nettles.

Bank maintenance

Eight metres of river bank below the Long Bridge were reinforced by willow spiling on 27 Sept 2000 by Waterside UK, a specialist contractor. This is similar to the work done above the bridge in 1996 by the Environment Agency and volunteers. Spiling involves weaving osier withies between willow stakes which take root. This produces a living green bank that resists erosion. All the materials used are natural and biodegradable. The South Oxfordshire District Council Agenda 21 Fund kindly donated £250 towards the cost.

At the same time, and sharing the JCB, a band of seven helpers reinforced the eroded meander bank by cutting and driving thirty crack willow stakes into the base of the bank. The helpers were Josh Green, George Hall, John Metcalfe, Mike Olleson, Steven Parker, Leslie Radford and Colin van Roon. They worked extremely hard for a long and wet day, and the trustees are very grateful to them. Climate change may well produce severe flooding in the future and we do not want to lose any more of the meadow to erosion. Mrs G. Johnson very kindly allowed us to cut crack willow stakes from her copse.

Bat project

We think there are bats on the meadow, and we plan to ensure that the habitat is favourable to their survival. A note on bats by Helen d'Ayala of the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust appears in this issue. Volunteers would be welcome to observe and report on the bats and possibly look after bat boxes. helendayala@bbowt.cix.co.uk

Note removed from web site - 10 November 2001.  Project did not proceed.

Kissing gate, hay cut, grazing and floods

A kissing gate by the long bridge was installed by trustees and volunteers on 17th April 2000. The Parish Council kindly contributed to the cost of materials. Access for children's buggies, wheelchairs and anglers' trolleys is now much easier.

The hay was cut on 29th June. Nine cattle have grazed the meadow from 3rd September. This helps to regenerate the meadow. They were removed on 1st November just in time when the floods came. The farmer's transporter became bogged down and this has done some damage to the footpath. We plan to make this good when the meadow has dried out. The floods have been particularly deep from 31st October to 10th November, and flooding recurred on 8th December lasting two weeks, and again on January 5th.

Hurst website

Andrew Clements has now set up our website. The aim is to make information about our activities more readily available, both for fundraising, for helping others who are setting up similar projects and for schools. The site will have links with many people and organizations who have helped us and will act as a network for mutual help. We will update it regularly and add more archive material and pictures.

Chairman of trustees Roy Tudor Hughes 340104. Hon: secretary Peter Pritchard 340008. Hon: treasurer Andrew Clements 340753. Ecologist John Metcalfe 340054. 12 Jan 2001