Ecological Land Cooperative Site 4 - Sparkford, Somerset

Wolfester Paddock, Sparkford, Yeovil, South Somerset, BA22 7HY Location ELC’s fourth site in South Somerset is a 20.04 acre field just on the edge of the village of Sparkford which lies close to the A303, 10 miles from Yeovil. Nearby villages are Western Bampfylde and Queen Camel. It is situated next to Sparkford Copse, a public woodland run by a local land trust.

Date purchased October 2018 Stage of development ELC has held meetings with the local Parish Council and the wider local community and we have been encouraged by the positive response we have had to our plans for the field. We applied for temporary planning in the summer of 2019 but a decision has been significantly delayed by the pandemic. We’re currently in the final stages of the process and are anticipating a positive decision in 2021.

Plot sizes The site plan shows the field has been provisionally divided into three small farms with one large 10.43 acres plot and two smaller plots of 4.53 and 4.57 acres. The development land will be to the south of the field where the road access is, and ELC will retain 1.5 acres of land along the south-western boundary next to Sparkford Copse.

Anticipated completion date As with our other sites we are unable to give exact dates for completion because once we reach the planning application stage we must wait for the process to complete. We would like to have plots available from Spring 2022.

What do the plots cost? At this point in time we do not have the plot prices , although we will be endeavouring to keep them in line with the price of plots on all our sites, so that we recover our costs of land purchase and site development only. Site Plan Ecological Information The site consists of one grassland field, bordered to the south, east and north by hedgerows. In the south-west it is separated from a small area of planted woodland by a fence, and a railway line runs along the west side. The field is generally flat, but slopes gently uphill to a high point in the south- west corner. The grassland is an agriculturally-

Plot 2 Plot 3 4.53 acres 4.57 acres improved sward dominated by a range of grasses, Plot 1 mainly rye. The field was formerly divided into two 10.43 acres parts by a boundary running across from east to west. The ELC have planted trees along part of the

ELC retained land 1.5 acres former boundary.

Soil Health Roger Hitchings notes that most of the field has a ‘Lime-rich loamy and clayey soil with impeded drainage’, Soilscape 9, this soil type is “suited to autumn sown crops and grass but a shortage of soil Dev’ment Land moisture can restrict yield, and timeliness with field work is important to avoid structural damage particularly in spring.” The soil would benefit from better drainage and careful management. Ecological Land Cooperative Unit 204, The Brighton Eco-Centre, Brighton, BN1 3PB tel: 01273 766 672 email: [email protected] web: www.ecologicalland.coop