North East Community Forests Land Services

Darlington Annual Report

2005-2006

North East Community Forests Land Services

Darlington Annual Report 2005-2006

Introduction

Darlington Borough Council delivers its practical countryside management on its nature reserves in partnership with the North East Community Forests Land Services. This practical conservation management takes a variety of forms and includes such things as wildflower meadow management, scrub management, work associated with pond management and work to improve access around the nature reserves. The service also provides some management work on the Public Right of Way system, including constructing steps to improve access, repairing stiles, re-siting Waymarker posts and drainage work to improve footpath surfaces.

The year saw the number of Local Nature Reserves grow from the original four; The Whinnies, Brankin Moor, Brinkburn Pond and Drinkfield Marsh, to seven with the inclusion of Geneva Wood, Maidendale and Rockwell. NECF Land Services also successfully tendered for the provision of maintenance and conservation management of the new reserve at West Park. This meant that there was a larger amount of work to be done by the service, which was a challenge for all concerned.

The Darlington Land Services Manager works in close consultation with Darlington Borough Council staff to establish the work programme for the work team. In this way the work associated with Public Rights of Way is given to the Land Services Manager by the PROW staff of Darlington Borough Council and both parties work in consultation to decide on the most effective habitat management for the nature reserves and to establish priorities and target completion dates.

Delivery of the work programme

The work team goes out four days a week, usually Monday to Thursday inclusive and currently it is attracting between 5 and 12 people daily. The total number of person days work delivered during the second year of the contract has been 1415; see attached spreadsheet for more details. These days have been divided between the seven nature reserves, public rights of way, the Black Poplar Project and West Park.

Added value

The recruitment of a Supervisor to join the Land Services Manager has continued to allow the project to expand extensively and provide a great of annual report 2005-6 text only 2 added value to the service. A large number of diverse groups have been involved in delivering the service during the year. The partnership begun in 2003-4 with the two main training agencies in Darlington, A4e and PPD to offer New Deal work placement opportunities continued for most of the year. However unfortunately A4e lost their contract with the local Job Centre to provide training for the New Deal contract in November and this had an impact on the number of people in the work team. The partnership with PPD continues to develop and this offers opportunities for unemployed people in Darlington to receive training in conservation work and has proved so successful that several people placed with us have continued to attend on a voluntary basis when their New Deal placements were completed. This was beneficial to all parties since it gave the volunteers the opportunity to continue with their volunteering and also provided a pool of experienced and dedicated workers.

The service has been able to develop further this year, building on the experience of the Land Services Supervisor who has worked in Darlington for a number of years, previously with BTCV. The project that he developed with the Pierremont Unit of Darlington Memorial Hospital has proved a great success and some of the outpatients felt so comfortable with the work atmosphere provided that they started to attend for additional hours. Several of them attended for a full day, instead of two hours and some were even attending five days a week.

The service has also begun a partnership with Community Payback in Darlington. This scheme is run by the Probation service and people who are given community service orders by the local courts have to work a certain number of unpaid hours and provide a benefit to the local community with their work. We have provided an opportunity for several suitably vetted people to work with us on the local nature reserves.

We have also provided an opportunity for some of the staff from Cummins Engines to do some work on Maidendale Local Nature Reserve, which is adjacent to the Cummins’ factory. The employees spent two working alongside our work team to build two timber pond dipping platforms on two of the nature ponds on the reserve. The project worked extremely well since most of the employees were trained engineers and were able to assist in some of “on site” design work required to construct the platforms.

The service has developed many other partnership opportunities for Darlington residents to experience practical conservation work first hand. These have been with such organisations as the Princes Trust, McMullen House, Millennium Volunteers, Wm. Morrison Trust, and Haughton School, where we have offered two pupils work placement opportunities. The placement was meant to be for two week in July, but once the placement arrangements had been made in October the school asked if the pupils could additionally attend every Monday morning. We were pleased to annual report 2005-6 text only 3 accommodate this request and subsequently one of the pupils has started looking into the possibility of a career in conservation management.

All of the people who work on the service receive informal training in a wide variety of tasks that should prove useful to them in obtaining future employment. These tasks can include such things as using a strimmer, building stiles, steps, kissing gates and small bridges, tree planting and tree felling and wildflower meadow management. They also get the opportunity to meet and socialise with a wide variety of people of all ages in an informal social situation. They also get the opportunity to experience the routine of a work situation without the pressure of normal employment.

We have also worked with the Darlington Countryside Service and Business in the Community and have given an opportunity for employees from CITI Financial, a financial services company in Sunderland to assist with repair of a surfaced footpath at Drinkfield Marsh.

We have also continued to provide some opportunities for local people to get first hand experience of conservation work through the countryside events programme. These opportunities have included woodland management work at Geneva Wood, pond clearance at Brankin Moor as part of World Wetland Day, tree planting at Maidendale and footpath drainage on the Teesdale Way in Dinsdale Woods. Attendance at these events has been very variable and it has been found that reserves with active steering groups tend to attract more people.

annual report 2005-6 text only 4 Management of Nature Reserves

The nature reserves benefit from having management plans in place and the majority of the work done on the nature reserves is in line with these plans, although other work is also done, such as responding to acts of vandalism and other unforeseen events.

The Whinnies

Work on this nature reserve has included: • Removal of hawthorn scrub re-growth within a wildflower meadow area. • Repair cross drains and resurface path after putting new plastic pipe to improve drainage to footpath. • Clear fallen limbs of large willow tree near site entrance gate from housing estate • Vegetation clearance on the side of the reserve’s access paths. • Cutting of dominant meadowsweet to try to diversify the flora at the Goosepool end of the site. • Repair of vandalised footbridge over pond at west end of reserve • The pond extension from last year was found to dry out in the summer and therefore this extension was dug deeper to try to prevent this occurring

Brankin Moor

This is the smallest of the four original nature reserves and work has included: • Clearing out vegetation from overgrown pond as part of World Wetland Day. This was public participation event. • Planting of seven half-standard elm trees to improve habitat for White Letter Hairstreak butterfly that has been observed close to the reserve. • Vegetation clearance on the side of the site’s access paths.

Brinkburn Pond

Work on this nature reserve has included: • Vegetation clearance on the side of the site’s access paths. • Repair of vandalism damage to fishing platforms installed by the Environment Agency annual report 2005-6 text only 5 • Strimming of an area of the reserve for an event of the Tees Forest’s Storytelling Festival and erecting a marquee for the event. • Removal of rubbish from the pond. • Erecting of a new sign at the entrance of the reserve from the Black Path

Drinkfield Marsh

Work on this nature reserve has included: • Vegetation clearance on the side of the site’s access paths. • Strimming grassy areas of the site prior to the Tees Forest’s Storytelling Festival. • Regular strimming of the grassy entrance areas to the reserve. • Re-surfaced approximately 30 metres of eroded footpath with dolomite. This task also included one day of work with 10 volunteers from CITI Financial, a financial services company in Sunderland. • Wildflower meadow management, cutting and removal of vegetation and rotovating area.

Geneva Wood

Work on this nature reserve has included: • Glade creation by felling some of the dominant conifer species, which also assists with diversifying the canopy mix. One of the workdays was arranged to include members of the active steering group for this nature reserve. • Chipping the brash from the tree felling to prevent it being used as a fuel for vandals to start fires on the reserve. • Path surfacing using locally sourced road plannings and compacting of the plannings to form a good walking surface. • Vegetation clearance on the side of the site’s access paths. • Construction of timber seats using timber sleepers and timber felled on the reserve.

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Work on this newly designated nature reserve has included: • Re-decking one of the platforms following the theft of the decking boards • Beating up last year’s tree planting along the eastern edge of the nature reserve. This was an event for the public. • Construction of pond dipping platform on existing wildlife ponds on the nature reserve.

Rockwell

Work on this newly designated nature reserve has included: • Managing the riverside wildflower meadow as agreed with both DBC Countryside team and the Environment Agency. The vegetation is cut twice a year and removed from the meadow to prevent nutrients from returning to the soil.

Public Rights of Way

There was less vegetation clearance to do this year because the regular contractor that cuts the vegetation during the summer was able to start earlier in the season. However we still responded to requests to clear footpaths at Middleton St. George, Sadberge Lane, Redcar Fields SSSI, Railway Cottages near Geneva Wood and along the riverside footpath from broken Scar to Blackwell.

Work was done on the Teesdale Way in Dinsdale Wood to improve the drainage on a very wet area of the footpath. This work done as a weekend public conservation task and attracted seven people and was reported in the Northern Echo, together with a photograph. Other work done on the Teesdale Way in Dinsdale Wood included cutting back overhanging branches and vegetation to keep the path accessible. A rotten waymarker post was also replaced.

A number of stiles were repaired during the year, either completely replaced or just replacing the stepboards. This work included stiles near the Baydale Beck public house, at The Greenway in , Low Dinsdale, Snipe Lane, Sadberge and the Teesdale Way at Middleton St. George.

annual report 2005-6 text only 7 Winter storms in 2006 caused the level of the River Tees to rise significantly and left a large quantity of trees and other damage brought down by the current at Blackwell. This damage was removed so that the riverside footpath could be used once the water level had dropped.

Strong winds throughout the year caused some problems on the PROW network with fallen tree limbs or trees being blown down and obstructing footpaths and bridleways. Obstructions were removed at Sadberge, Middleton One Row, Catkill Lane, Sockburn Lane, Patches Lane, Middleton St George and the Teesdale Way at Middleton One Row.

Work was also done on the public footpath through the southern section of Geneva Wood to remove an ongoing obstruction caused by a local resident who was disputing the ownership of the woodland with the Council. Concrete blocks and felled trees had been placed across the footpath to discourage people from using the right of way.

Another project that we were involved was the agreed diversion of a right of way at Todd Fall Farm, near Redworth. The work involved the installation of a kissing gate, a set of steps, a small bridge and waymarker posts to denote the route of the diversion to the users of the new path.

Black Poplar Project

Work on this project has included:- • Regular maintenance of the cuttings taken last year in the tree nursery at Barmpton Allotment and the former BTCV allotment at Bellburn Lane. It has proved difficult to find sufficient time to maintain two allotments and therefore toward the end of the year the decision was taken to consolidate the stock of trees in one location. All of the trees from the former BTCV nursery were planted out or moved to the allotment at Barmpton Lane. • Checking on the status of the trees planted out last year on suitable farmland sites and replacing failed trees as required. • Cuttings were taken from established native trees around the borough and some of the bigger trees at the BTCV allotment that were too big to move easily and planted in the allotment.

annual report 2005-6 text only 8 Horsefield Pond

This site is adjacent to Brinkburn Pond LNR and will hopefully become an extension of the nature reserve. Approximately 650 trees were planted on this site adjacent to the east coast mainline railway and the trees were maintained during the year and any trees that needed replacing were replanted.

Brinkburn Black Path

This site is also located near to Brinkburn Pond LNR and it is hoped that this area will also become an extension of the LNR. The work here involved removing birch and hawthorn scrub from an area close to the former railway line that had previously been the location of a colony of Dingy Skipper butterfly. The scrub was shading out the ground vegetation, including the remaining birds foot trefoil, which is the caterpillar’s food source.

West Cemetery Lane

At this site we were asked to construct and install a green oak seat alongside the recently surfaced cycle track. The seat was to be a memorial for a local resident and keen cyclist, Dr. Ceri Williams and as such was to be artistic as well as functional. A design was chosen similar to a seat used by Sustrans on a cycleway in County Durham. The design called for four “goalpost shaped” seats of differing heights to built and installed at right angles to each other, i.e., the lowest one installed and then the next highest one put in at right angles to it, the next one was installed in the same orientation as the first and then the final one in the same orientation as the second. The seats were set into the ground and concreted in position and then backfilled.

West Park

North East Community Forests Land Services has been contracted to management this new nature reserve near since June 2005. The nature reserve has been developed as part of a mixed development that includes housing, a new school, a new metal health hospital, shops, public house and perhaps the re-location of Mowden Park Rugby Club.

The main habitats on the site are areas of tree planting, approximately 35,000 trees, wildflower meadows, ponds and streams. There have also been some areas of landscaped planting at some of the entrances to the site and annual report 2005-6 text only 9 also within the informal play area at the main entrance from West Auckland Road.

The main thrust of the management is to maintain and enhance the condition of the habitats of the site, woodland, grass meadow and watercourses and the access around the site. The maintenance includes such things as regular litter picking of the site, grass cutting of the amenity grassland to keep it tidy, repairs to site fencing and other infrastructure and weeding around the landscape planting in the play area and other site entrances .

In the early stages of the contract there was a significant amount litter removed that had originated from the adjacent building sites. This was a combination of wind blown litter and materials that had probably been taken from the builders’ compounds and dumped on the nature reserve. Meetings took place with builders’ representatives to make them aware of the litter problems and this reduced but did not eliminate the problem. The site agents agreed to do a litter pick of the reserve close to their sites on a weekly basis to remove rubbish that had originated on their sites, but the frequency was found to be more sporadic than was agreed.

During the winter months of 2005 approximately 10 days were spent removing tree stakes that had been installed by the original landscaping contractor. This was necessary because the tree ties on the stakes had not been loosened during the period since the trees had been planted and the tree ties were cutting into the trunks of the trees, restricting their diameter and damaging them. A number of trees were found to have significant damage to their trunks or were found to have a trunk too thin to support the canopy and this could only be resolved by coppicing the trees. These trees should respond well to coppicing and will be as tall as the other trees within a few years.

Another problem that has been inherited from the under-specification of the original landscaping contract is that some areas of landscaping have become overgrown with weeds because a weed suppressing membrane was laid at the time of planting. This is particularly prevalent at the north-west entrance to the site, where many hours have been spent trying to remove the weeds by hand. This is the only option because the weeds are growing close to the plants and cannot be removed by spraying with herbicide.

A further problem that is still to be resolved is that of the erosion of the site’s footpaths following heavy rain showers. A combination of the loose surfaced footpaths, necessary because of potential future subsidence and the natural slope of the ground towards many of the paths results in the natural course of the rainwater run-off flowing down the surfaced footpaths. This can only be resolved by installing some type of drainage ditch at the edge of the paths to stop the water getting onto the paths in the first instance.

annual report 2005-6 text only 10 There has also been some small scale vandalism that has had to addressed, this has mainly been the damage to small trees, which respond to coppicing: damage to some of the weirs installed in the water course to provide differing depths of water along its length; and some damage to trees on the southern edge of the reserve near the former railway line done when building “drinking dens”.

It is intended to recruit a site ranger in the future to look after the day to day issues of the site and also to promote the use of the site to local people and promote the correct use of the site. It is also hoped that a partnership can be developed with West Park Hospital that will see patients using the site and possibly getting involved in some of the practical work on the site. This will build on the partnership that we had before the mental health unit moved from the Pierremont Unit of the Memorial Hospital.

It is also hoped that a partnership can be developed with Alderman Leach Primary School, which is adjacent to the main entrance of the site, to see them using the site for educational purposes. A series of countryside events will also be held on the site in partnership with Darlington Borough Council’s countryside staff.

Meetings and Events

The Darlington Land Services Manager has also attended various evening and weekend meetings of the steering groups that have been set up to allow the local community a voice in the management of the nature reserves.

The Land Services Manager and Supervisor have also been involved in public countryside events organised by Darlington Borough Council staff at The Whinnies. This involved the Land Services Manager doing a green wood turning demonstration and the Supervisor making bird boxes at the annual Open Day and also leading a public conservation task of hawthorn scrub clearance. Other public events that were delivered included a practical conservation day to improve the drainage on the Teesdale Way in Dinsdale Wood and also clearing out some ponds at Brankin Moor on World Wetland Day in February.

The Land Services Manager and Land Services Supervisor have both been involved in leading a practical conservation task for members of the active Geneva Wood steering group, which involved assisting with the felling of conifers to create some glades in the woodland.

annual report 2005-6 text only 11 Conclusion

This year the contract has built on the foundations of the first two years, the staff and volunteers are more familiar with the differing habitats that require managing on the various nature reserves. This has enabled them to be more proactive in the management of the reserves. This has also been the case concerning the work required on the PROW network. The tasks have become familiar and the people doing the work have benefited from the training received and have more proficient in such tasks as building and repairing stiles and steps. Some of the people who have been placed with us from the New Deal scheme have enjoyed the work so much that they have stayed on as volunteers, where it does not affect their benefit payment. This has enabled us to retain a core workforce that is both committed to and skilled in the work required. The partnership with Darlington Borough Council’s Countryside section has also continued to develop and it has been enhanced by staff becoming used to working alongside each other.

The recruitment last year of a very experienced and capable Land Services Supervisor has enabled NECF Land Services to work more flexibly and provide greater opportunities to involve New Deal trainees and volunteers from Darlington in a wide range of activities relating to practical nature conservation management. This has also allowed a wider range of training opportunities to be offered that have also benefited the people involved in the delivery of the work.

This has been reflected in the wider variety of partnerships that have been developed during the year with organisations looking for placement opportunities for their clients. This has ranged from mental health outpatients from Darlington Memorial Hospital’s Pierremont Unit, Millennium Volunteers, and work placements from Eastbourne School and McMullen House through to private sector business, represented by Cummins Engines, Northumbrian Water and CITI Financial.

Following a successful partnership in the Middlesbrough area between the Probation Service and North East Community Forests Land Services a similar partnership was begun in Darlington. People that are given community Service orders on the Community Payback scheme have the opportunity to come and work as part of the team. Community Payback staff vet the people placed with us to ensure that they are low risk and will not cause any problems with their inclusion into the team. The partnership started in August and delivered 45 man days of work during the year.

The contract continues to deliver a quality service and I am sure that it will continue to develop due the work put into the partnership arrangement by the staff of both North East Community Forests Land Services and Darlington Borough Council’s Countryside staff.

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