New East Hanney Parish Council Community field Stewart Scott and Paul Aram

22 January 2017

1 Introduction East Hanney Parish Council are in the process of taking out a 21 year lease on a field to the North or the Playing field.

2 Proposals To establish a working group. The working group will develop the ideas, consult and implement agreed plans. To advertise for help to investigate the practicalities of a possible BMX, outdoor fitness trail and larger allotments Apply for change of use. Cost £385 £50 to purchase soil testing kit to establish the level of nutrients. Field to be called “King’s Leases” A notice board to be set up which can be used to explain what is happening. 3 Existing status 3.1 Field usage The field has been used for arable crops for a considerable time. It is generally flat and level.

Figure 1- Aerial view of field.

The size is 6.3 Ha

The soil type is unknown

There are no existing public rights of way across the field, but there some are close by. There was a footpath across the field marked on older maps.

There is an overhead electricity cable route crossing the field. Two poles are located in the field and one at its edge.

Figure 2- Map of field showing adjacent public rights of way and electricity poles

The Eastern boundary consists of a partial ditch, small trees and shrubs

The north and western boundary consists of a small trees and shrubs and as adjacent to a Byeway open to all traffic called Cow Lane.

Agricultural vehicle access is at the north west and south east corners.

3.2 Drainage A system of field drains are installed on the far eastern side.

Figure 3- Land drainage sketch

3.3 Tree and shrubs The boundaries consist of small trees and shrubs. These may not be in good condition and it may benefit from some pruning. Advice will need to be sought. 3.4 Electricity poles The three electricity poles and the associated lines should be taken into account when deciding on a location for possible additional sports fields. 3.5 Archaeological significance The Hanney history group have been consulted, they believe that there is very unlikely to be any archaeological artefacts within the field and there is no requirement to carry out any geophysical surveys. 3.6 Biodiversity Because of its continued use for arable crops there is unlikely to be any unusual species of plants, insects or mammals in the field. 3.7 History Group infomation It is an interesting piece of land and from the Enclosure and Tithe maps is called Leases or King's Leases. Leases are grassland often combined together by mutual owners. Like all the land between the Brook and the current Parish boundary track N/S it is part of the old Tything /Manor of Phyllberts. As such it is a significant area of land between East and West Hanneys and one wonders it real age. The track edging the Leases now turns east down the Green Lane but at one stage before the Turnpike A338 was built/updated it continued due north along the parish boundary in the direction of Garford and the Frilford/Marcham complex. It was sold back to local farmers.

Early known owners apart from the medieval St Phillibert family include the Crown- several different Kings such as Richard 11 and Edward 111 have passed it round royal courtiers one of whom was the notorious Alice Perrers, Edward 111's mistress. She and her husband also acquired Ardington and the Hanney Manor of Southbury so she was clearly not daft. It was her family who had the right to appoint a priest to the chapel at Poughley. After the Reformation, the Manor of Phyllberts went to the Yates family of Lyford who remained resolutely Catholic and this may have been when the chapel disappeared as the recusant families retreated into their own manors and worshipped privately. So I suppose that the Leases area could have all been part of the medieval land management of the early hamlet of Poughley or 'Poffley' on the Enclosure Map.

In the 18th century the land passed into the hands of the Pusey family and Philip Pusey left parcels of land across the Vale to various villages. This included the area we are talking about to East and West Hanney as allotments to the villagers.

Older maps do show footpaths crossing the field, but this may be before the definition of public rights of way became established.

4 Field Security To prevent illegal use of the field by travellers it is proposed to install short wooden posts at both entrances. This will allow tractor access but prevent access cars and caravans. Some posts will be installed on Land owned by West Hanney Parish Council and they have given permission.

5 Lease restrictions There no restrictions other than no building is permitted.

6 Neighbourhood plan consultation Question 4.4 of the Community survey asked “What would you like this field to be used for?”

A tick box was provides as follows

Wildflower meadow Sports Field (football/rugby/hockey/etc) Standard sized allotments Larger allotment pieces suitable for keeping chicken/bees or small animals Open grassland for general use Pond Outdoor fitness trail BMX track Skateboard park Other – please tell us what The results of the survey are as follows

352 surveys returned.

Wildflower meadow 204 Sports Field (football/rugby/hockey/etc) 76 Standard sized allotments 30 Larger allotment pieces suitable for keeping chicken/bees or small animals 52 Open grassland for general use 232 Pond 91 Outdoor fitness trail 126 BMX track 41 Skateboard park 44

Other comments

Space for indoor sports Sport activities for elderly Club for children in evening Community orchard (apples, pears, cherries) Dog friendly area, Area for dogs off lead. Footpaths for wheelchairs and pushchairs Fruit trees, Woodland Wind turbine owned by community Orchard Outdoor gym apparatus Community Garden Sculpture trail Wildlife reserve Netball Youth zone with wall to kick ball against Track for young people to use quads and motorbikes

7 Football field Hanney youth currently play on the field to the east of the line of trees, this is owned by West Hanney Parish Council.

The youth football club has grown organically to six teams and over sixty players. These teams require different size pitches and a training area. As the training area is a fixed location it means that this area can’t be used for pitches. The lower NE corner of the current field is susceptible to flooding and so can’t be used for pitches.

Currently we have three pitch sizes with the U14 pitch taking up so much space that we could provide the extra pitches we need if this pitch was moved. One option would be to play on the Senior pitch but two senior teams already play on this pitch and it suffers over winter. Additionally in three years time there will be a requirement for two youth teams on the same size pitch.

It would therefore be beneficial to create a new pitch now which could be used for the older teams and if necessary the senior team.

The area of land in the SW corner of the field would be a good location because it is adjacent to the current pitches and has land drainage channels in place. This would make the field less likely to flood with fewer games cancelled.

The pitch will take about a year to mature to a condition suitable to play football so the sooner this is started the quicker it can be used.

Grants may be able to be obtained from Sport England or the Football Association.

8 Rugby Field A rugby field could be created. There is no rugby club in Hanney but there is a local club in Wantage. The Wantage club are keen to set up some demonstration games and training session at Hanney should there be enough interest. The West Hanney Parish Council put a notice in the Hanney News asking if anyone was interested in establishing a rugby club, although there was some interest no one came forward to volunteer to organise it.

Touch rugby is suitable for all ages and has no fixed posts so if a football field is constructed, this could also be used for touch rugby if required.

9 Pond A large pond sounds very attractive but there are some issues. Firstly there is no local water supply so it cannot be topped up to maintain a constant level.

The soil is porous so to prevent drying out it may need to be sealed with clay or lined unless the water table is constantly high.

It may that the water level is high enough most of the year to not need a liner. A test bore hole should be dug to establish this.

Another suggestion is to produce a “Scrape” which is pond that dries out in summer. This still has significant ecological benefits.

Natural England have issued a Technical Information Note called “TIN079 - Illustrated guide to ponds and scrapes” it suggests the following are ideal for a new pond

Locate new wildlife ponds in low input semi-natural habitats where they will be fed by clean water. Alternatively, establish a wide buffer around them. DO NOT DIG UP EXISTING WETLANDS.

Where possible create new ponds near existing ponds, streams or other wetlands, but do not directly link the waterbodies.

If possible create a complex of smaller ponds with wetland between them, rather than a single larger water body. Some pools should be permanent, some temporary.

Create a variety of water depths, in particular very gently sloping margins. This will provide conditions for a range of different plants and animals. Leave excavated surfaces rough and hummocks and hollows on the bottom of the pond and around the edge.

In some ponds a steeper bank around part of the pond may be valuable for species such as water vole.

If necessary some tree and shrub planting may be carried out near the pond to provide shade and shelter, but avoid planting the southern margin. Near smaller ponds plant shrubby species rather than tall trees.

10 Hedgerow condition The boundaries of the field consist of a mixture of trees and shrubs. In general it appears to be un maintained and could not be considered a hedgerow. It may be appropriate to survey the boundaries and establish what could be done to improve the condition to encourage wider bio diversity. TVERC runs a course called Hedgerow Survey techniques. There is a Hedgerow Survey Handbook titled “A standard procedure for local surveys in the UK Prepared on behalf of the Steering Group for the UK Biodiversity Action Plan for Hedgerows”.

There is also a lot of information available from Hedgelink. This is the partnership that brings everyone interested in hedgerows together, to share knowledge and ideas, to encourage and inspire, and to work with farmers and other land managers to conserve and enhance our hedgerow heritage.

There is also THE ENGLISH HEDGEROW TRUST which provide a lot of useful information.

The Hanneys flood group have been able to obtain free trees over the last 2 years and this has included trees suitable for hedgerows so it may be possible to improve the boundaries with additional tree and shrub planting at little cost.

It may be worth asking in the Hanney News if anyone is interested in helping with improving these boundaries and establishing a good quality hedgerow. The Hanney gardening club, community woodland group and the flood group members could also be approached.

11 Birds It may be possible to improve the variety and quantity of birds by establishing suitable nesting boxes and planting. Advice could be sought for local experts. This also may require areas of grassland to be fenced off to prevent predation by dogs.

12 Outdoor fitness trail An outdoor fitness trail could be established. This could consist of a set of fitness equipment placed around the field or in one particular location. Wooden type structures may be more appropriate than brightly coloured metal structures.

An example of a supplier is Fen Land Leisure Products, they are a leading manufacturer of specialised adult fitness trail equipment and has built up a powerful reputation as a pioneer of outdoor fitness structures. All fitness products are manufactured from technologically advance SAFALOG® (Pressure impregnated engineered strong laminated redwood timber beams).

Their adult fitness trail equipment is manufactured to EN16630 the new European Safety Standard covering the manufacture, installation, inspection and maintenance of permanently installed, freely accessible outdoor fitness equipment. All our equipment is intended “For youths and adults taller than 1.4m”

All outdoor fitness areas and equipment are required under EN16630 to be fully supported with signage both on the equipment – directing safe exercising and a circuit information sign providing a course overview and emergency contact information.

13 Open grassland The current field is generally level but may need further smoothing, it will need planting with suitable grasses and may require weedkiller applying before then. It will need mowing.

Arable land can be reverted to grassland to increase the variety of habitat in predominantly arable areas. It may help to buffer or link up areas of important grassland, to protect and extend existing habitats or to strengthen farm landscapes.

It may be important to assess soil pH, fertility and nutrient levels. Soil pH can be important in determining the type of plant species that will re-establish and as an indicator of the possible weed burden.

14 Wildflower Meadow Wildflowers are difficult to establish and require poor soil quality, regular mowing and collection and removal of the cut grass. Advice will need to be sought.

15 Skateboard Park This may not be possible on this site as there is a restriction on building, but non-permanent ramps could be constructed.

16 BMX Track There was an idea to construct a BMX track a few year ago in some land by the primary school. This was on land owned by West Hanney Parish Council. This never happened. There has been instances of children trying to construct their own mud jumps on the edge of the field. There could be an area where a combination of obstacles created from a mixture of soil and wood could be used to create a BMX track. The design and insurance requirements would need to be further examined.

17 Wild life area An area could be allowed to grow wild, this has significant ecological benefits and could be used to create a wildlife corridor.

18 Allotments There are still allotments available in both the East Hanney and West Hanney allotments, so it is difficult to justify further allotments on this field for the small number of responses.

19 Larger Allotments This needs a lot more thought on how it could be achieved, access and what restrictions should be applied.

20 Six Acre Standard National Playing Fields Association recommend a minimum of 6 acres (2.42 Ha) playing fields per 1,000 head of population. The predicted population based upon existing approved housing applications is as follows.

East Hanney = 748 + 212 x 2.39 = 1,254

West Hanney = 490 + 54 x 2.39 = 619

This gives a requirement of 4.5 Ha

The existing West Hanney useable football field and East Hanney usable cricket and football field comprise of a total of 3.6 Ha.

21 Archaeological surveys

The History group are being consulted on possible surveying some of the field using metal detecting equipment during the spring or summer.

I have been giving some consideration to 'the footpath' under discussion during this foul weather. First I would think that anybody not conversant with the Enclosure Map of East Hanney 1806 should have a look on line because this accurate map shows the significance of the Manor of Philberts between East and West Hanney which is clearly mardked in red as an old enclosure and this certainly sets apart this area of land across which the map shows the footpath runs.

Figure 4- Part of 1876 Enclosure map

At the other extreme of local history work on my soup run this week I visited Dolly Bevan age 94 and as a small girl she remembers the funeral of an elderly man who lived in a cottage on Barnstaples Farm which is in the middle of the final northern group of five fields, His coffin had to carried across the fields to the school and then onto the church in West Hanney.I thought that this proceedure had probably been going on for years and thought back to the chapel of Philberts which probably had its burial rights in he mother church since its foundation- at least as long ago as 1260. It aslo made me think how important this end of the village had been in early times and ask why there was no church in East Hanney central until the 19th centry. The school log book records that children came across the field from the far end to reach the school. All in all there must have been some traffic going on! Ann Fewins

22 Possible schemes

This shows one idea. This shows grassland and sports field on the area fitted with drainage. If a pond is created the soil could be used to create a nearby BMX Track. A footpath circles the field and tractor access would be on the south west corner.

This is a second idea with a fenced wildlife corridor

23 Field Name It would be useful to give this area of land a name. Possible names include

King's Leases Phyllberts Field Robert’s Field

24 Consultation with expert bodies 24.1 Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust

Thanks for contacting your local Wildlife Trust about land advice in Hanney. A wildlife pond is almost always a great addition in terms of increasing biodiversity, meadows are also great but a more long term aim and not so easy to achieve so that will need a bit more consideration.

For me to give you the best advice, it would be really helpful if you could find out as much about the past use of the piece of land as possible. Has this parcel been farmed in recent years, and if so was it grazing or has it had a crop on it? Has it had added nutrient input or just been left as rough grassland?

Also what are the plans for ongoing management – can the meadow be cut and arisings removed say twice a year or is it an area that could be grazed with a nearby farmers stock at certain times of the year.

Establishing a wildflower meadow is much harder if nutrient levels are high and depends very much on the meadow being cut or grazed at the right time of year and the arisings being removed. It might be that this needs to be done for some years to reduce nutrient levels before its even worth seeding the meadow. Alternately it could be managed as rough grassland and just slowly pushed in the right direction with an appropriate cutting/grazing regime and some annual seeding with yellow rattle, knapweed etc. It might also be worth considering some conservation hedging or planting of some berry rich scrub such as hawthorn, spindle or wayfarer. Worth considering what is in the immediate area and what you could compliment/link up with to provide a wildlife corridor or supplementary habitat.

It’s probably worth you finding out what you can about the past use then giving me a ring on the below number for some initial advice. Mondays and Tuesdays tend to be better days to catch me in the office.

It’ great that you are up for improving the area for wildlife and I’m sure I can help you achieve that but long term management does need to be considered from the start.

Mark Bradfield Community Wildlife Manager (Oxon) Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust

24.2 Oxfordshire Conservation officer Hi Stewart

You asked about getting advice on enhancing biodiversity in the field the PC has recently leased. This was the sort of thing the community ecologist at Wild Oxfordshire would have done, but there is currently no-one in post unfortunately.

I’ve asked Dominic Lamb if he is aware of anyone else locally that may be able to help, he mentioned Sally Wallington if the site is adjacent to the Letcombe brook (apparently you already have her details).

So if Sally can’t help I could meet you on site to have a chat about what would be best, depending on what uses the PC has in mind for the land. Do you have any plans showing where the site is located, or a nearby address?

Sarah Postlethwaite MCIEEM Protected Species Officer Oxfordshire County Council

Hi Stewart

Some of my thoughts then:

As people have already said, making a proper wildflower meadow will take time on former arable land, and lots of management, but it can be done. The first task is to reduce the fertility of the soil as much as possible. You will need expert advice on what is best to sow across this part of the site initially, as you don’t want to spend a fortune on a wildflower seed mix that won’t grow because the nutrient levels are wrong. Various seed mixes for different uses and soil types are available from http://wildseed.co.uk/ In terms of location, don’t have it too close to groups of trees as the leaves will enrich the soil, but hedges nearby are fine.

If the field is to be used by the public, I wouldn’t bother fencing off parts of it to protect ground nesting birds. The reason for this is that is it not large enough, and just the nearby presence of dog walkers, children, people playing games etc will be enough to deter them from using the site. (If it was the whole site, then yes, it would be worth it). It would be far better to integrate the wildflower meadow into the areas used by the public, by providing mown paths through it, in order that the wildlife and its beauty can be appreciated up close.

A pond or scrape will take a lot of management to keep it beneficial to wildlife, since without top-ups of water it is just likely to just dry up and grass over. If there is a naturally low-lying point that collects water, then this may be a viable option.

If you have control over the hedgerows, it would be nice to bring them back into use as actual boundaries, through hedge-laying. The hedge will soon recover and grow back much thicker than before, which is more beneficial to wildlife than overgrown straggly trees. Any decent trees can be left as standards to grow mature (eg oaks, ash, field maple). You might be able to find a volunteer group who can undertake this and teach you at the same time.

A small orchard of fruit and nut trees could be planted – this would be more beneficial to wildlife than woodland trees, as it provides a food source over the winter, for birds in particular.

If there are mature trees around the field edge, bird and bat boxes can be erected. However, I would avoid wooden ones as they tend to rot and fall off in a few years. I would go for woodcrete – it’s warm and lasts a long time. A good selection of Schwegler habitat boxes is available from http://www.nhbs.com/browse/subject/899

24.3 Flora locale Flora locale was established in 1998 as an independent charity. Their aim is to promote and advance the conservation and enhancement of native wild plant populations and plant communities in relation to creative conservation and ecological restoration.

They run training courses and have the following planned for 2017

Farming and small holding for biodiversity Peatland Grassland restoration, management and scything Grasslands and woodlands in Scotland Grasslands and woodlands in Wales Fungi Constructed wetland systems Horses for woodland management Orchards Plants for pollinators Ponds and other wetlands Trees, Ancient Trees, woodlands and woodland flora Urban gardens, meadows and greenspace I have asked them if they can help with a local training course or other support. 24.4 Letcombe Brooke Project Sally Wallington has experience of managing wildflower meadows and has offered to help. 24.5 Sustainable Wantage Group Dear Stewart

First of all I have to tell you that I am not an expert. My sole qualifications are that I have loved wild flowers all my life, can identify many but am no botanist, and I feel very passionately that their preservation is of paramount importance for the future of our flora, fauna and ultimately ourselves. This year I did a plant ID course which I can recommend. You will probably know much of what I am about to write.

Looking at the info you have sent you will be starting at a very different point to us. To give you some background, we started work on our modest plot (approx 600 sq m.) in November 2015. I will attach some pictures of what it looked like then. Basically there was no obvious entry into it, as at both ends there were huge bramble thickets with course grass several feet high in between, over hanging trees, a thicket of blackthorn and brambles and somewhere beyond the brambles and ivy a tiny stream. We were lucky to get a lot of voluntary help from people who had the equipment and knew how to use it.

I think there are a few important factors to consider to start with;

Wild flowers thrive best on infertile soils.

Traditional wild flower meadows are largely the result of agricultural practices that are now rarely followed.

Planting it and then leaving it to its own devices will probably not give you the results you are hoping for.

In the past a farmer would leave the grass to grow in the spring, when the wild flowers would grow in the grass, be pollinated, set seed, and drop the seed for the next year. Then the farmer would mow it, and most importantly, remove the hay which had the effect of not adding to the soil fertility. He might also graze it, and the cattle would tread the seeds into the soil, in effect planting them. There would have been some manure from the cattle but probably not chemical fertilizers. Somehow you have to try to reproduce this. Hopefully your soil is not too fertile, and that depends on its history.

We applied for a grant from Trust for Oxfordshire, but were not allowed to start work until it had been approved, which is why we were not ready to plant until spring 2016, but the advice seems to be that autumn sowing is best.

We had to adapt our plans as we progressed, as we soon found that we had very distinct areas, which needed different approaches. We had a bare patch where the brambles had been removed, so decided to sow this with annuals which give a very visual impact which people are impressed by; red poppies, blue cornflower, purple corn cockle, and this worked well. We cut the annuals after they had seeded down, and removed the cuttings when we judged that the seeds had dispersed. It will probably be necessary to 'top up' with more annual seed this spring.

The course grass area has had to be treated very differently. In autumn 2016 we seeded this with yellow rattle, (it is best sown in autumn) which acts as a parasite on the course grass It is quite pretty in itself but we will have to judge how thoroughly is has done its work, and then mow it before it seeds down, or if needed. leave it for another year. We will probably then sow with perennials.

You might want to stick to perennials which would be less work, but would still need to be cut and removed after seeding.

Another approach is to leave it to grow, see what comes up, without sowing any seed at all, then mow it after any flowers you get have seeded down. There could well be dormant seed in the ground. This might not give you much, but perhaps, as you have such a large area you could use this approach for some of it.

You could also try exporting cuttings once you have some flower rich ones and lay them on bare ground to seed down there. We have tried this and it does work.

Seed should come from very reputable sources, to ensure it is native wild flowers that you are sowing, as some similar species will not always support our flora and fauna and may take over. Perennial mixtures should include grasses, the grasses being desirable ones, not the course stuff we have in part of our meadow.

If you think it would help, you are welcome to visit our small meadow and we would be happy to visit yours. 24.6 Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Thanks for your email. Great to know you are looking to create a wildflower meadow.

We have lots of advice available on our website about how to create and restore wildflower habitats. These can be found on our resources page under the heading 'Managing your land' http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-us/resources .

The main issue will likely be removing nutrients from the land - wildflowers thrive in soils with poor nutrient status, highly cultivated soils have generally been treated with plenty of fertilizers over the years meaning that quick growing grasses can outcompete the wildflowers you put in. This can be resolved by making a few cuts at different points in the year and removing the vegetation. It can be a slow process - especially if the soil is especially fertile - although including Yellow rattle in your wildflower mix can help as this species is semi-parasitic on grass.

I'll leave you to read through all the info, if you have any more specific questions after you have read through the information - please feel free to contact us again.

I hope this helps. If you are interested in supporting our work to protect UK bumblebees please take a look at our website - http://bumblebeeconservation.org/support-us. An individual membership is only £20 per year and comes with a great welcome pack full of goodies to help you identify UK bumblebees and information on how to support them.

Darryl Cox Science and Policy Officer

Bumblebee Conservation Trust Charity Number 1115634 (England & Wales) SC042830 (Scotland)

25 Robert Isles

Paul

Further to our conversation on the phone the other night I thought I would summarize the points we mentioned and provide the contact detials.

The people/organisations I wanted to get involved were:

BBOWT for field, pond and hedgerow development advice

Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust for hedgerow rewilding and species advice

Freshwater habitat Trust for pond advice.

County Ecologist

I am still chasing BBOWT but the others came back to me,

Jeremey Biggs at Freshwater habitat Trust has said the site may be outside their funded remit as the Water Framework Directive Catchment Host but my still be able to provide some advice, or for more detailed information can provide good advice for a fee. Ball park figure may be Approx £500. However is opinion is that the site is likely to be a very suitable place for a pond. Better still would be to put in a series of ponds not just one, to ensure a chance that at least one develops well. A good size would be 1000m2 or 33mx30m but it could be smaller 10-30m across as required. Safety is an issue to be discussed as is maintenance. One option would be to allow grazing of bank side vegetation at some time of year. There is a danger over time that reed species such as bull rush and Fragmities can over take a pond especially if the water is very shallow. But clearly deep water over say 1m could be a risk to children. Perhaps if sides are gently sloping with notices will solve this issue. I suggest getting the County Council Ecologist involved to answer some of these issues.

Jeremy also said there is a lot of information on the Million pond web site. Also site visits to Pink Hill Ponds near Farmoor and Land owned by Andrew Iles near Marcham could also assist in getting an idea for size, depth and management. I could pursue Andrew Iles if needed.

Jeremy Biggs contacts are: 07590 030610 [email protected]

Info can be found at http://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/projects/million-ponds/pond-creation- toolkit/

Peter Thompson at Games and Wildlife Conservation Trust came back with this:

Good to hear from you.

Yes – happy to help out – rather like you – probably slightly outside of the GWCT remit really!

As you say – gap up existing hedge with Blackthorn (early nectar source, foodplant of Brown Hairstreak butterfly and of course sloes in the autumn!) Hawthorn (good all round blossom and berry shrub), Buckthorn (food of Brimstone butterfly – berries heavily sought after by birds). These are great hedge thick spikey shrubs – help to keep travellers out! Other shrubs to consider are Holly (food plant of Holly blue butterfly and berries and great for early nesting birds such as blackbird & Song thrush) Wild Privet (great nectar source much visited by butterflies and berries liked by birds. Also partly evergreen – so again good for early nesting birds.) Guelder Rose, Wayfaring bush and Dogwood are all good nectar and pollen shrubs – but don’t make for the best hedge plants – a bit “gappy” in winter!

Finally as you correctly say – Goat willow (or “pussy” willow as it is often called) is top of the pops for the really early pollen & nectar source required by queen bumble bees (amongst others!) coming out of winter hibernation. You might plant it at a junction – so that it forms a big bush/tree and is only trimmed very occasionally. It will literally hum in March/April! Finally – a crab apple tree or two might be considered – wonderful blossom – loved by honey/mining bees and hoverflies and then nice crabs for birds and/or crab apple jelly!

Many other things that they could consider – wild flowers, pond, nest boxes, etc etc.

His contacts are: Peter Thompson Biodiversity advisor Tel: 01425652381 Mobile: 07710344340 Email: [email protected] Web: www.gwct.org.u k

We mentioned getting a base line for the bird species and I know my father could do this as he has been doing these for the past 40+ years.

Funding

A colleague raised a point that the Vale of White horse may have a community fund which may be a source of funds. Also my father had some interest from the Forestry Commission and woodland Trust for advice and possibly small maintenance grants, this is worth pursuing for any tree planting. Further for any major costs the Lottery is open to all and I feel this project with the multiple benefits to the community would be well supported.

Community activates inclusion and support.

My father and another member of the village have built and put up dozens of bird and bat boxes in the millennium wood which are working well so could assist with this.

Planting of the pond can be done by schools. I have done this in the past and it is an idea way to get local people involved. BBOWT who also know about working with volunteers may be interested or at least would be a source of experience. Getting the school involved will be a way to ensure the new site is respected and not damaged.

Hedgerow planting, Balackthorn that Peter Thompson mentions is an easy thing to establish requiring only a slit by a pushed in spade and so this can be done easily and rapidly by the community.

It may be worth getting the people in the Cotrells farm involved as they have also looked into funds and have some equipment to drill in fences posts etc if needed, likewise the landowner may still have any heavy kit needed.

The Environment Agency do sometime do environmental days however and look for suitable community projects that we can assist, in the past we have built boardwalks for BBOWT, Himalayan Balsam pulling along rivers, assisted with river restoration projects and litter picked, so we could possibly other a day or two for planting or similar.

Although not a villager now I was born and brought up there for 30 years, and my parents still live there as does my brother in law. Unfortunately the fields falls outside the Environment Agencies remit and thus my professional life but I would still be happy to assist where I can.

I will continue to pursue BBOWT as they could give meadow management, wild flower meadow and working with volunteers advice. I will let you know.

Best

Robert Iles

(FACTS)

Senior Environment Officer – Agriculture

Land and Water team (North)

26 Change of Use DWe need to apply for permission from the District Council to change usage from Agricultural. This will cost £385

27 Wildlife Corridor It may be possible to enhance the passage of wildlife North- South and East-West.

The East- West between a Copse on the Childrey Brook to a Lower Mill Copse by the Letcombe Brook.

The North- South between the community woodland and shrubs along northern field ditch and hedgerows.

Figure 5 - Wildlife corridors

28 Trust for Oxfordshires Environment

TOE2 was established in 2011 as an environmental funder for Oxfordshire, aiming to make a real and lasting difference to Oxfordshire by supporting local community environmental projects

TOE2 can support projects that: Improve the overall biodiversity of habitats including woodlands, ponds, rivers, meadows, green spaces and the wider countryside Improve the quality, quantity and/or coverage of voluntary species recording in Berkshire and Oxfordshire Improve breeding or habitat conditions for particular species, eg; planting nectar rich plants for bumblebees

Further information on (CTAs), Biodiversity Opportunity Areas and BAP priority habitats and species is available from WildOxfordshire

Useful guidelines on landscape character and general biodiversity down to the Parish level can be found at The Oxfordshire Wildlife and Landscape Study (OWLS)

29 Conservation Target Areas This field is not within the current conservation target areas.

Figure 6- Conservation Target Areas

30 BAP priority habitats Throughout the UK there are a number of priority habitats. These are particular habitats which are deemed to be of national/international importance. Their conservation is therefore regarded as a priority within the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) of the UK (they are usually referred to as UK BAP priority habitats).

Oxfordshire supports several of these priority habitats including calcareous (chalk or limestone) and neutral grassland. The majority of priority habitats are associated with designated sites such as sites of special scientific interest or county wildlife sites. Acid grassland Ancient and/or species rich hedgerow Lowland calcareous grassland Lowland heathland Lowland meadow (neutral grassland) Lowland mixed deciduous woodland Reedbed and fen Wood pasture, parkland and veteran tree

31 Emorsgate Seeds

Hi Stewart

Ultimately the ‘floweriness’ of a meadow and its diversity are due to what local conditions will allow and the long-term management you carry out. I therefore agree that it probably be an idea to have the soil analysed. Whilst some nutrient can be lost or removed from the soil relatively quickly this is not the case with phosphate so this is the key one to measure. In general soils with a phosphate indexes of 1 or less should support a meadow, above 1 would require more management and over 2 are probably not worth it.

If the expense of a soil test is too much you could try a simple test. Get three pots or trays and in the first one fill with good quality potting compost, in the second vermiculite and in the third a sample of soil from your field. Then buy a small amount of a quick growing lawn seed (EG22 if buying from us) and sow equal amounts into three pots or tray. Treat as you would any other seedling then after a couple of months evaluate the amount of growth in each tray. Ideally the height of the grass in the meadow pot should be no more than half that in the potting compost one.

I hope this helps. Once you have you results we can then look at the various options available although it might be worth looking at EM2 and EM5 as examples. Two thing that might be worth knowing is that for site over about half a hectare sowing rates can be dropped from 4gm-2 to about 2gm-2 and if more money need to be saved you can also reduce the proportion of flower to grass from 1:4 to 1:9 (i.e. 20% EM5F plus 80% EG5 to 10% EM5F plus 90% EG5).

Regards

Mark Schofield

Emorsgate Seeds