Much to report!

 

After a computer problem that has prevented updates for a while we are back up and running and several pages have been updated now.

 

Swans

7 cygnets were bore on Wednesday May 10th and first spotted by John Mears and his wife - who's photo is attached. In 2016 6 cygnets were born with 3 surviving to adulthood. The second picture by Jeff Grey is 2 weeks later.

 

Eels

The Norfolk Rivers Trust are currently working on installing an eel pass, for the pond so elvers can enter the pond. Last year a survey found eels in the pond - approx 75cm long - and we would like to ensure that new elvers swimming upstream can enter the pond.

 

 

Wind Turbine Application

 

Who would believe I still am no nearer a decision. The why wind pages have been updated.

 

Alder tree clearance

 

The tree growth that had encroached along the North (left) sides of the pond has been cut back work will continue in 2017

So much to report!

Wind Turbine Application

 

As reported below the turbine application was submitted to North Norfolk District Council in late December. I won't repeat myself - please read the wind pages here and register your support with the council HERE!

 

Alder tree clearance

 

The tree growth that had encroached along the East (back) and South (right) sides of the pond has been cut back, to facilitate this a board was removed from the sluice and water level lowered by about 6 inches. Even so we had to work from boards and clear each bit by hand.

 

Pond Signage

 

The planning application for an information board was granted and this has now been ordered. It is hoped for it to be in place late March, together with an oak log that will act as a seat.

 

The next phase

 

Its not finished yet! The next phase will be to dredge the pond back by.36ha or about an acre, this will really make a difference again and restore it to something like it was 100 years ago. Timing is dependant on several factors, harvest, contractors and money! but it is hoped that this will be either Autumn 2015 or 2016. Watch this space.

 

Selbrigg Memories

 

I would like to include any memories or historic photos you may have. The photo shown is from about 1970 - can anyone shed anymore information about it? Please Contact Us if you have anything that could be included

Dredging Complete

 

Dredging is now complete with all the machinery now removed. Alan and James from Waterway Conservation and Maintenance completed a first class job on the first phase of the pond restoration. The pond has now 'refilled' back to the planned level so very little of the steel bank wall is visible.

 

They managed to unearth a single bore rifle - see photo. The police have taken it for testing

 

The Lagoons in the field that captured the spoil have now dried out and will shortly be reincorporated back into cultivation.

 

Permissions in Place

 

Planning permission has been granted for the next phase, a 0.36ha extension to the East or back (as viewed from the new bank) of the pond. Work on this phase should begin Autumn 2015

 

Wind Turbine Update

 

Shortly the wind turbine planning application will be resubmitted - see wind section.

 

Gallery

 

A Gallery section of photos that have been taken at the pond has been added to the website go to the main page and click on the right hand photo to access (or click here)

Dredging!

 

We have rethought the dredging of the pond (to that previously described in the preservation section of this site). We are now going to clear the reeds at the front of the pond then dredge that section before attempting the rear area.

 

This is because there is a brief period of opportunity to start work. Reed clearance is not allowed after 1st March because of fish spawning, whilst dredging needs to be complete by April.

 

The recent bad weather has not helped, but the floating equipment is now on site ready to go.

 

Exciting times!

Fish Survey

 

We thought it would be interesting to conduct a fish survey of the pond. This was done on Friday 7th February. The pond was electro-fished then a 110m net was cast across the pond and manually hauled to shore. The fish caught were measured and counted. A similar survey was conducted in 1999 and it will be interesting to compare results once available. (This will be published on the fish pages once received) (Also see Preservation - Angling for details)

 

Core Samples

 

Dr Carl Sayer from UCL spent Saturday and Sunday extracting 2 core samples down through the sediment and into the peat for analysis. Each core was sliced into 1 cm sections, recorded and bagged. Once results are available it will be most interesting what they show.

Permissions in Place

 

There is about one more week of landscaping and work left to do at the pond. Thank you to Alan and James who have been so considerate to all visitors of the pond whilst the work has been undertaken.

 

The tree planting was successful and a further section of hedge will also be planted shortly. The Alder trees that we coppiced will be pruned so that fewer, stronger branches grow.

 

Norfolk County Wildlife Trust have suggested some changes to the dredging plan that we are incorporating. This will see a net reduction in the overall dredged area however will preserve habitats at the back of the pond. Norfolk Rivers Trust and I are working on the next phase of the planning application.

Nearly there...

 

Work on the bank wall sheeting is now almost complete, once the replacement sluice is completed the, rather muddy, bank will have some additional topsoil added and then sown with grass.

 

The weir design is still under review by Norfolk County Council but hopefully work won't be held up unduly.

 

Swans...

The mother swan has returned to her cygnet and has brought a distinctive new male cob swan with her. He has a slight scar/bump to the right side of his beak. Many people seem to be feeding the cygnet and he/she is starting to get adult white feathers. He crashed on one of his first flights by our house and so I picked him up and took him back to the pond! No damage done.

 

 

Tree planting

We invite you to spend a couple of hours on boxing day 10-12 planting a new hedge along the bank of the pond, for more details click the contact us page and let us have your details. You will be rewarded with mince pies and mulled wine!

 

One month in to work...

 

Work has now been going for about a month and great progress has been made, with alot of debris being cleared and the new steel sheets being vibrated into place.

 

No evidence has yet been found of the reported clay lining, making work alot easier and quicker.

 

The wooden capping (Sapele) a hard wood with 40 years life expectancy has been delivered and will start to be screwed and bolted to the sheets. Eventually this will weather to a grey colour similar to teak.

 

The single pipe originally inserted into the drain that bypasses the pond has now been replaced by 2 larger pipes, providing temporary access as Norfolk County Council did not think that the single pipe would be sufficient in the event of a downpour.

 

Swans

 

The male swan cob appears to have been killed, his body was sighted by the electric cables in Bodham. The mother bird that had been missing has returned to be with the cygnet although seems to have long periods away from the pond ?looking? for the cob.

 

Permissions in Place

 

With planning permission granted, and flood consent given from both the Environment Agency and Norfolk County Council it looks as if w/c Tuesday 27th August work can begin on replacement of the wall and sluice.

The design is unchanged, with steel piles inserted 3+ metres into the ground just in front of the existing wall. These will be pinned back with ties to support and capped with hardwood. The ties will then be covered with soil leaving only the hardwood capping visible.

After this is complete and landscaping undertaken an oak seat will be placed for people to rest on.

Swans

Many thanks to all those involved with a drama with the male (cob) swan. He had fishing wire round his neck and reports of a hook in his neck. Various attempts were made to extract him from the predicament before eventually they were successful.

He quickly has recovered and seems none the worse.

Alas only one of the cygnets remains but it is starting to develop swan like features.

Otter sighting

An otter was seen hunting in the pond last week; the first confirmed sighting for a year.

Good News day!

 

Swans

The two swans that have been nesting have, slightly later than I forecast, produced four cygnets. Attached is a photo - look carefully and all four can be counted.

 

Pond Wall

The plans for the replacement wall have been approved by NNDC today, unanimously. The steel has been ordered on the same day, so work will commence, as planned, later this month.

 

Slowworm

The survey for protected species that will accompany the application for dredging due be submitted later this year has found lots of fish and a slowworm! It's still early days.

 

Woodland management plan

Yesterday the forestry commission agreed our woodland plans, where we will generally apply a light touch with replanting.

 

So this week has been a good week all-round.

 

Tadpoles

As you can see in the attached photo tadpoles are now in full force. There are literally millions of them, so despite the short migration period the toads seem to have done their stuff!

 

Swans

The two swans that have been nesting have yet to produce any young but my calculations indicate that they should do so in the next week... but what do I know! Meanwhile the coots have hatched 6 chicks.

 

Pond Wall

The plans for the replacement wall are still waiting approval by NNDC, however I believe this is imminent. Work should start on the wall next month so we are starting to feel the pressure of not having this in place. Meanwhile the EIA is underway for the main pond restoration.

 

 

Pond Update.

 

The first phase for planning permission for the wall, and sluice arrangement has yet to be agreed but hopefully will be in the next couple of weeks. The work is tentatively scheduled for June/July.

 

Norfolk County wildlife services are completing the EIA and this, and have begun survey works. Once completed we can then finalise the proposals and seek planning permission for the second phase.

 

Jonah Tosney from the Norfolk Rivers Trust recently took the picture of a perch at the outfall stream from the pond. Great shot!

 

Wind Turbine

 

Keen followers of the project will be aware that the MOD lodged an objection to the turbine. This was somewhat unexpected given their previous communications with my agents. We have therefore withdrawn our application and are now reviewing options.

Pond Update.

 

Planning permission is needed for the replacement wall, and sluice arrangement and this has been submitted to North Norfolk District Council. http://www.northnorfolk.org application ref PF/13/0099 (recorded under Bodham parish)

 

A full EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) for the restoration of the pond is required by NNDC and this is being tendered for by 3 contractors. Then a further planning application will be made for the silt removal work.

 

The restoration of the pond will be project managed by Norfolk Rivers Trust as part of the 9 chalk rivers project

 

Wind Turbine

 

Planning permission despite being submitted in November has finally been registered by North Norfolk District Council. The success of this application is crucial to fund the full restoration of the pond. Pages on the website have been added to explain the philosophy behind the application. Letters have been written to residents of Lower Bodham, Baconsthorpe and Hempstead explaining the application with a brief summary. Full details of the application are available from North Norfolk District Council. http://www.northnorfolk.org application ref PF/12/1339 (recorded under Hempstead parish)

Although it is some time since the last update, I have behind the scenes been working hard on finalising plans for the pond.

 

We have updated the website to reflect our plans for a single, medium sized, wind turbine. Please take time to consider the information. A full copy of the planning application is available at North Norfolk District Council’s offices at Cromer together with photomontages that give an idea of the turbine from various locations. We hope you will support this application.

 

Ash Die Back

Our envioroment is changing, ash die back has recently been reported, but other trees are also threatened by a variety of pests, viruses, and diseases. We have done our best to inspect all our Ash trees and currently believe they are free from infection. We will continue to monitor them.

 

Thank you

Bernard Dawson has provided a comprehensive bird list from his recordings so the web pages will be updated in due course.

 

Pond Update

Attached is a picture of the clearance we have been conducting on the south side of the pond, in preparation for the dredging work next year. We will shortly start work on the opposite bank. (after EIA has been completed)

Although it is some time since the last update, I have behind the scenes been working hard on finalising plans for the pond.

 

The major news is that Selbrigg pond, as part of the nine chalk rivers project has been awarded substantial grant funding for rejuvenation and renovation, to commence in April 2013. This necessitates the wall and dredging work to be conducted between April 2013 and 2014.

 

I have received feedback that the fishing platforms proposed may spoil the character of the bank, therefore I don’t think that these will be included in the final scheme as the area’s special wild nature is a feature we do wish to preserve.

 

The Elder trees along the bank, which were coppiced in April, have shown substantial growth, already covering their stumps.

 

The dragonflies seem to have been particularly good this year, and attached is a photo taken this summer.

The Alder and Ash trees that had grown up between the road and the bank have been coppiced and wood now cleared. The work took a little longer than anticipated owing to machine breakdowns but the end result has been received generally favourably.

 

Several comments have requested a bench to sit on; and at some stage this will be added but this will be after repair work to the wall and sluice has been conducted. The hazard will be if the geese choose to roost on it - If anyone knows of a suitable design that may be appropriate let me know!

 

Alas with the recent rain the swans have left the pond without nesting. I witnessed 2 swans crashing into the surrounding trees at take-off, and falling dramatically to the ground. The area is just not big enough anymore for them, hopefully once increased they will return.

The next stage is further engineer reports into replacing the sluice, once I have agreed a design I will post it here.

Well after lots of planning the first tentative steps have taken place.
The felling licence has been issued by the forestry commission allowing the coppicing of the trees along the bank. This work is scheduled to be undertaken by TREEHOPPER for 6 days between 25 March and 2 April. The road may be subject to substantial delays so signs to advise users have been erected. It is the closed fishing season so this will be unaffected. In preparation for the felling, the blackthorn growth has been cut and cleared along the bank and the growth of Alder trees through the retaining wall has started to be felled.

 

In other news, a structural engineer has been on site and will design a replacement for the sluice shortly. Once the trees have been coppiced the top of the wall will have the top two courses of bricks removed so that he can return and inspect it further.