Bank on Us Heritage at Risk
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The magazine for National Grid grantors Winter 08 Bank on us How National Grid protects the landscape Heritage at risk Preserving the past for future Tall generations order Grantor’s unusual harvest feeds the giraffes at Chester Zoo Also in this issue: tree management, inside a Sainsbury’s supply depot, win a weekend break J2999Gridlinecover.indd 1 11/12/08 17:11:40 Contents 10-11 14-15 NATIONAL GRID’S LAND AND DEVELOPMENT GROUP NEWS is responsible for acquiring all rights and permissions from statutory authorities and landowners needed to install, operate and maintain 04 How National Grid is National Grid’s electricity and gas transmission networks. We act as sponsoring a community farm the main interface for landowners who have our gas and electricity enterprise in South Wales equipment installed on their land. Listed below are your local Land and 05 The pylons come down Development Team contacts. Please email any changes to your contact at the 2012 Olympic site details to [email protected] or fax to 01926 656574. FEATURES 06-09 ELECTRICITY AND GAS made on 0800 404090. Note the ■ North West and Scotland tower’s number – found just below 06-09 A former colliery at PROFILES 0161 776 0706 the property plate – to help crews Chatterley Whitfield near Stoke ■ South East 01268 642091 locate it. is one of 6,000 protected ■ South West 01452 316059 ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC 18-19 How grantor Huw heritage sites at high risk ■ East 0113 290 8236 FIELDS Rowlands provides willow for 14-15 How gas pipeline WAYLEAVE PAYMENTS ■ For information on electric hungry giraffes at Chester Zoo project teams reinstate valued ■ For information on wayleave and magnetic fields, call the EMF landscape features like dry payments, telephone the payments information line on 08457 023270 stone walls and Devon Banks LAST WORD helpline on 0800 389 5113. (local call rate). 16-17 A glimpse inside ELECTRICITY EMERGENCIES Website: www.emfs.info the giant Sainsbury’s Retail 20 Enter our competitions ■ Emergency calls to report pylon GAS EMERGENCY Distribution Centre at Ham’s to win a Sony Handycam damage to National Grid can be ■ 0800 111999. Hall, near Coleshill and a weekend away for two 02 | Gridline J2999Gridlinepg2-3.indd 1 11/12/08 17:16:06 GOT A STORY? TEL: 01926 654 958 or email [email protected]. com. Or write to Gridline, Summersault, 23-25 Waterloo Place, Warwick St, Leamington Welcome to Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5LA. 18-19 A very warm welcome to the Winter issue of Gridline – and on NORMAN’S LUCK TAKES A behalf of the whole Land & Development team I would also TURN FOR THE BETTER like to take this opportunity to wish you all season’s greetings Congratulations to Norman and a Prosperous New Year. Jenkins of Tal-y-fan Farm, On page 6 our special feature focuses on the Heritage at Risk Ystradowen, Cowbridge, in South Register which lists thousands of scheduled sites which English Glamorgan, who is the winner of Heritage say are at risk of crumbling away from the passage of our digital camera competition in the last issue of Gridline. time or, in some cases, neglect. “I often enter competitions but Industrial structures are often particularly challenging in terms of finding a am never normally lucky,” said sustainable future which also preserves the heritage of the site for future generations. Norman, who manages a herd of We take a closer look at the £70 million regeneration project to transform Chatterley purebred Aberdeen Angus cows Whitfield colliery in North Staffordshire – the most complete collection of pithead on 360 acres of grassland in the Vale of Glamorgan. structures and buildings in England. “I’ve been thinking of getting The urban theme continues on page 10 with an insight into a very modern into digital photography for commercial operation. The huge Hams Hall distribution centre – another National a while and so winning this Grid grantor – enables Sainsbury’s to keep the shelves of 70 of its stores constantly re- competition has been a really stocked with fresh produce round-the-clock. pleasant surprise. Two articles in this issue look at aspects of National Grid’s environmental policy. On page 14 we see how gas pipeline project teams use skilled local craftsmen to WE WANT TO HEAR reinstate historic landscape features like the distinctive Devon Banks and dry stone FROM YOU walls when work is completed. Please contact us if: And on page 16 we look at National Grid’s vegetation management policy. It has ■ You have any news of interest to other grantors always been the company’s duty to maintain minimum safety distances between trees ■ You have a hobby or business and overhead power lines, but new legislation is about to place even more emphasis which would make a good profile on measures to ensure network security in the event of extreme weather. ■ You would like to comment on Turn to page 18 to read about Cheshire farmer Huw Rowlands who, as part of anything in the magazine. a wide-ranging wetland conservation programme on the farm, coppices willow Phone 01926 654 948 or email branches which are being fed to giraffes at Chester Zoo. [email protected]. Finally, don’t forget to enter our competition on page 20 for a chance to win a weekend away for two. Gridline is produced by Summersault Communications, 23-25 Waterloo Place, Warwick St, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5LA. Editor, Gridline Gridline | 03 J2999Gridlinepg2-3.indd 2 11/12/08 17:16:46 UPDATE Key stories from National Grid and its nationwide grantor network Pulling out all the stops for endangered species Special mitigation measures were adopted to the spread of the larger, more aggressive when rare white-clawed crayfish were found in North American signal crayfish, which is also streams during an underground cable project the carrier of a fungus that has devastating from Hutton to Oxenholme in Cumbria. consequences for the native species.” “White-clawed crayfish are typically found in On advice from the Environment Agency, the clean, limestone streams,” said James Streets, the Electricity Alliance East team built dams and project’s ecologist, who relocated any discovered temporarily diverted streams around the works. near the trench zone to safer areas. Soil and pebbles were replaced to ensure that “They have declined in the last 30 years due there was no habitat loss (see page 12). TEAM EFFORT: The lands officers prepare to put in the new fencing Park gets a facelift A team from National Grid’s Land and Development East region rolled up their sleeves to help create a sensory garden at Tyneside Riverside Country Park in Newburn, Newcastle, as a goodwill gesture after essential works caused TRIUMPH: Community members with Martin Kinsey, Stephen Crabb and Welsh Assembly Member Paul Davies some temporary disruption for the park’s visitors. Five pylons in the 160-acre park Farm scheme bears fruit were affected by refurbishment of the overhead line from Eccles, in reseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Set up in November 2007, the farm produces Scotland, to Stella West, Newcastle. Crabb has been down on the farm to a wealth of plants and vegetables, which are During the team day the lands see the results of a three-year funding now sold to the Estate’s residents. An outdoor officers delivered timber and P partnership between National Grid classroom operates twice a week for year 10 and installed new fencing. National and the Mount Community Association in 11 schoolchildren, who use the farm for outdoor Grid is also funding the planting of Milford Haven. curriculum activities, and there is a weekly new trees to replace those cut when Visiting the Mount’s farm at Llanstadwell, the children’s gardening club where youngsters can access roads were put in. minister met three part-time employees who learn about where their food comes from. “We have come to expect a high have gained jobs through the New Deal Scheme “Supporting local projects such as this is our standard of reinstatement from thanks to National Grid’s support. A further way of saying ‘thank you’ to the community National Grid and we haven’t been six jobs have also been created at the Mount for its understanding during the construction disappointed yet,” said park ranger Community Association, three of which have of the Milford Haven gas pipeline project,” said Gillian Brown. gone to Mount Estate residents. National Grid project manager Martin Kinsey. 04 | Gridline J2999GRIDLINEPG4-5.indd 1 11/12/08 17:18:15 DVD is a fund of information on hedges Gridline has copies of a DVD about hedge management for the first 100 grantors to contact us. According to Natural England, hedgerows are the ‘service stations’ of the countryside and play a key role in supporting a variety of wildlife. MILESTONE: (below left to right) Cirl buntings, tree Vincent de Rivaz, EDF sparrows, dormice and Energy chief executive; Nick bats are just some of the Winser, executive director National Grid; David Higgins, chief executive species that need hedges of the Olympic Delivery Authority to nest in or for their food (ODA); Lord Coe, chairman of the supply. London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games & Paralympic Entitled A Cut above the Games (LOCOG); Rt Hon Tessa Rest the 25-minute DVD Jowell MP, Minister for the has been produced by an Olympics alliance of organisations who have got together to promote essential Going, going gone hedgerow management – including Natural he project to underground England, the National National Grid’s electricity Hedgelaying Society, the supplies running across the Campaign to Protect T 2012 Olympic Games site is Rural England (CPRE), due to complete in December with the the RSPB, the Tree dismantling of all 29 pylons on the now Council and Defra.