Hartsholme Country Park Flood Alleviation Work News Update

HARTSHOLME COUNTRY PARK – FLOOD The trees located within the bounds of Hartsholme Country Park are not within a Conservation Area, nor are they ALLEVIATION WORK – NEWS UPDATE protected under a Tree Preservation Order. However, the trees located adjacent to the link footpath extending from the Background. boundary of Hartsholme Country Park to Birchwood Avenue Hartsholme Lake is situated within Hartsholme Country Park, are protected under the Doddington Road No 2 TPO 1981. a protected landscape, in an urban area to the southwest of the City of Lincoln. The lake, which has a surface area of Of the estimated 2000 trees located in this stretch of approximately 10 hectares, is fed by the Prial Drain which woodland 38 are required to be removed to facilitate access enters the lake from the southwest via a culvert underneath for plant and vehicles and to accommodate the ground works the B1190 Doddington Road, and an assortment of surface associated with the flood alleviation scheme and the footpath water inlets from the adjacent built estates. Water is retained improvements. A further 12 trees will require pruning in the in the lake by an embankment dam to the northeast, with the form of crown lifting to allow access to vehicles and plant B1378 Skellingthorpe Road running along the dam crest. within the site. There will also be a need for shrub/scrub removal. All of the works are being planed with reference to The City of Lincoln Council has a long standing aim of conservation issues and following an Environmental Impact lowering the risk of flooding from Hartsholme Country Park Assessment. Lake to properties within the Birchwood Estate. The estate is located to the southwest of the City of Lincoln and has some history of surface water flooding during storm events. During a Timetable for works and footpath closures. flood event, the water level in Hartsholme Lake rises, which in itself can cause flooding to the estate or may indirectly cause The above tree work is expected to be carried out from the flooding by impeding drainage from the estate. 19th October 2015 for 2 weeks, with potential for some slippage into November subject to weather conditions. The The mitigation works. tree/shrub work will be carried out by the City Council’s grounds maintenance contractor, and the working period will To mitigate this flood risk low sections along the bank on the be kept as short as possible to minimise disruption. This time western edge will need to be filled to achieve a level of 8.4m of the year has been chosen as it minimises disruption for AOD and re-profiled. This is the stretch of bank from White wildlife. Bridge to Black Bridge. This is to be done by installing toe boards, raising the bank with fill material, or construction of a The embankment and footpath construction work will be bund on the lakeside of the path. The effect of this carried out by a local construction company, selected requirement is a small increase in height in certain areas. through the City Council’s procurement process. This work will take place 2-3 months after the tree work has Once the bank raising work has been completed a more been completed. accessible stone path will be laid on top from White Bridge to the County Council’s link path from Birchwood Avenue For both the tree and construction work footpath closures adjacent Black Bridge. The path will provide much improved will be required. For the tree works the link path from access to this area for all users, with significant improvements Birchwood Avenue to Black Bridge will remain open, but for wheelchairs and pushchairs. for the construction work this link will be closed to allow safe machinery access. Diversion plans will be posted during both operations. Trees. You can view the application form and plans online by visiting To enable the flood alleviation scheme and footpath the website www.lincoln.gov.uk under Living in Lincoln> improvements to take place the project will require some Planning and Building Control > Existing planning applications works to trees. The trees affected are located on the west and appeals, reference: 2015/0250/RG3 bank of the lake between Black Bridge and White Bridge, and adjacent to the public footpath extending some 240 metres Should you require any further detail, or wish to discuss the from Black Bridge to Birchwood Avenue. works please contact the Community Services Team on 01522 873423 or [email protected]