News on The Paddock

The first phase of the comprehensive enhancement scheme to improve The Paddock community nature reserve has now been completed, enabling The Paddock to fully re-open to the public on Thursday 11 May 2023.

Our specialist contractors, Ebsford Environmental Ltd., have successfully cleared the significant Japanese Knotweed infestations and decades of fly-tipping that have blighted the site. Using a tried and tested ‘cell burial’ method of excavating, sealing and burying the Japanese Knotweed in a geo-textile membrane, The Paddock has been largely cleared of this pernicious invasive species that was gradually colonising the site and depriving native species of their habitat.

The extent of the Japanese Knotweed and the scale of the historic fly-tipping became clear once the contractors commenced work on site. With each area of Knotweed that was excavated, tonnes of historic fly-tipping and dumped building waste was discovered, making the task of burying the Knotweed rhizomes more complicated. The contractors even discovered enough dumped vehicle parts to re-build a car! Eventually, 30 tonnes of rubbish had to be removed and disposed of appropriately off-site before the cell burial could be completed.

The cleared Knotweed has now been encapsulated in 6,400 sq.m. of geo-textile membrane, creating a secure cell with a life of 50 years. The cell has been capped with over 3,300 tonnes of soil, delivered to the site in 234 truckloads sourced from a local supplier to keep environmental impacts to a minimum.

The land remediation works have enabled the creation of a new meadow, a habitat that has been in drastic decline in the UK, as well as new ‘wet meadow’ or boggy areas. The meadow will be planted with wildflowers to improve the biodiversity of The Paddock, while the wet meadows will help diversify the range of habitats on site. Ebsford Environmental have kindly sponsored and undertaken hydro-seeding of the meadow, ensuring that the planting can become established through the Spring.

Due to the challenges of undertaking excavations close to the waterway, some of the Japanese Knotweed infestations close to the River Lee have been left in situ. These will be treated through a sensitive chemical treatment programme to avoid the environmental impact of major excavations.

With the completion of this first phase of enhancement works, plans for the main works to improve the path network, entrance areas, visitor facilities and landscaping can now be progressed for implementation in Autumn 2023.

The Paddock re-opens fully to visitors on 11 May 2023, with The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) re-starting a full progamme of on-site volunteering activities. To celebrate the completion of the first phase works, there will be a community event on 27 May 2023 (12 noon – 1.30pm) open to the whole community, where families and individuals can get hands-on helping TCV to plant the meadow areas, take part in a crafts workshop, and go on a self-guided trail around The Paddock. The Paddock Design Team will also be on hand to share information about the Paddock Enhancement Programme and the updated Masterplan, which has been refined through two rounds of community engagement in the winter of 2020 and Summer 2021.

Keep an eye on the TCV websitefor full details of the Meadow Planting Event on 27 May.