Following the success of last year’s Eco Fair, St Andrews will again be holding an Eco Fair in the Church on Saturday 13th May between 10 am and 2pm.
The focus this year will be on the biodiversity of our local neighbourhood.
The Eco Fair will have stalls of eco friendly product, and talks and walks exploring the local ecology.
“Our Eco Day will explore what can be done locally to safeguard and protect our own part of God’s creation.”
As can be expected the Yare Valley features strongly in the Fair with a birdwatching walk on Marsden Marsh and a walk to the Strawberry Field to see the developing wildflower meadow. Of the several talks at the fair there will be a talk by Matt Tomlinson of the Friends of Strawberry Field.
YVS will again have a display stand highlighting the importance of the Yare Valley in supporting and restoring local biodiversity.
YVS display at last year’s Eco Fair Photo: Marilyn Evans
The Environmental Agency is funding Norfolk Rivers Trust to work on schemes that will increase meanders in the river, increase the speed of flow of the water, and trap more of the sediment that it transports. At the same time the schemes will improve water quality and provide marginal cover and habitat for river dwellers, such as water voles.
Newly constructed Berm Photo: John Elbro
Woody berms are being installed at various points along the banks of the River Yare between Cringleford Bridge and the UEA campus. The Woody Berms are made up of woody material, mainly alder, layered at the river margins and held tightly in place by stakes and cross braces. In places this has necessitated cutting back some of the vegetation on the banks to provide the materials.
As time passes reeds and other marginal vegetation will become established in the berms to give a more naturalised appearance and create habitat. An idea of what the mature berm might look like can be seen in a Wessex River Trust booklet.
Yare Valley Water Vole Photo: Lynda Clarkson
The Norwich Fringe Project has also been using natural materials to restore sections of bank that have become eroded at Marsden Marsh. It has inserted Faggots at places with serious bank erosion, these will help to consolidate the bank and reduce further erosion.
Bank restoration on Marsden Marsh
Explanatory notices have been put up to explain the works. A clearer map can be found here.
Eaton Village Residents’ Association (EVRA) is hosting a talk by Dr. Andrew Hutcheson on Arminghall Henge at Eaton Vale Activity Centre on Wednesday 15th March. Dr Hutcheson led last summer’s archaeological dig at the henge site. The site is surrounded by ditches and barrows that make this one of the densest collections of late Neolithic early Bronze Age monuments in eastern England and one of the most important prehistoric discoveries in Norfolk.
Arminghall Henge lies in the Yare Valley close to the river bridge at Lakenham. The nearest point of approach is on the Boudicca long distance trail which passes along the river valley at this point. A long term aim for the Yare Valley Parkway is to link the Yare Valley Walk with the Boudica Trail on its way to the Walk’s projected end point of Whitlingham Country Park and a link to the Wherryman’s Way.
As a further improvement to the Strawberry Field, selected gaps through the hedgerow between the Field and Bluebell Road have been given a hardcore surface. This is a great improvement on the mud that is often to be found there. They follow existing desire lines, and so presumably are gaps people will want to use. Hopefully they will become the access points, and there will be no further forcing of gaps in the hedgerow.
The gaps offer a way to join the Strawberry Field Track and by-pass the cycleway and the noise of the Bluebell Road traffic.
A new planning application, 23/00082/D, is a revision of improvements to part of the Yare Valley Walk from the present improved path near the Strawberry Field to the Flyover. At the flyover the improvements will link with the recently completed Cringleford Meadow paths. The work is to satisfy a condition laid upon Phase 2 of the McCarthy Stone development. The application is a modified form of the original application, which was announced in the News page on August 2022, and now replaces it. The plans are to be found by searching using the reference number at the Norwich Planning Portal.
It was with great sadness the committee learned of the passing of Andrew Salisbury. Andrew was a Stalwart of the Society for many years and a past Chair. John Thurman, also a past Chair, knew him well and writes:
“Andy Salisbury, who died last August aged 91, was a prominent figure in the Yare Valley Society during six decades. He was part of a small group who founded the Society in the late 1960s in response to the threat of building a large cinema and car park on a site between Bluebell Road and the river. With that development fought off, the Society became dormant until it was re-formed in the late 1980’s after an application by Tesco to build on the same site. Andy became Chairman for a short time in 1993, and again for almost 10 years from 2007. He was a robust defender of the valley and represented us at countless events; saw our membership grow to over 400 and, as an early user of I.T., brought greater professionalism to our newsletter and membership records, with able help from his wife Val, who pre-deceased him.
Andy was a mathematician who taught maths and trained teachers at Keswick College and, later, UEA. He was also an enthusiastic bell ringer and sailor. His organising skills and leadership were of great value to us, and his good humour and friendship continue to be missed by his many neighbours and friends.”
The Yare Valley Society continues to strive to mitigate the impact on our green space of the development between the Bluebell Road and the River to which Andy devoted so much effort.
Planning application for hole in the ground “Pond” reduces public green space
Another application, 22/01567/F, has been made relating to the McCarthy Stone phase 3 development on Bluebell Road. The application is for enlarging the attenuation pond constructed for water runoff of phases 1 and 2 to cope with phase 3. The use of “pond” although not technically incorrect may give a misleading picture of what is being proposed. Attenuation ponds for developments can be unsightly and potentially dangerous. An attenuation pond in a public access green space linked into the projected Yare Valley Parkway should be more than a hole in the ground. It should be safe and add to the amenity of the open space rather than detract from it.
Existing Attenuation Pond for phases 1 and 2.
The Yare Valley Society has several concerns about the proposals:
Restriction of public green space
The pond extension as positioned would further restrict the Public Access Green Space being made available under phase 2 of the development (now under construction). It should be a separate pond contained within the original Phase 3 development area.
Size
Insufficient attention has been paid to measures that could reduce the size of the attenuation pond e.g. by a greater use of water permeable surfaces of drives, roads and parking areas etc., and by use of rainwater harvesting (e.g., rainwater tubs, rain gardens) within the site.
Design and Planting
Insufficient attention has been given to its design and planting. It is a large feature in a public green space and so itshould be sculpted to create a natural setting. It should then be planted with trees, shrubs and other plants to improve visual appearance, provide safe public access, and provide habitats for wildlife.
Water Quality
It is not clear what steps are to be taken to ensure the water entering the pond is of sufficiently good quality to avoid hazard to wildlife or to the public.
Management
A Management Regime will need to be put in place to maintain and improve biodiversity, amenity, and water quality of the attenuation pond into the future.
What is possible?
The attenuation pond is a SUD (Sustainable Drainage System), and modern designs for SUDs in public green spaces maximise the potential for SUDs to contribute to the ecology and amenity of their surroundings. Key design principles for SUDS can be found on p 11 of the RSPB publication “Sustainable Drainage Systems – Maximising the potential for people and wildlife” . The publication shows what is possible with foresight and planning.
If you share the YVS concerns, please respond to this application by going to the Norwich Planning website, and inserting the reference 22/01567/F for details. Please make clear in your response why a properly designed and sited attenuation pond is important to you personally. Please act ASAP.
The Yare Valley Society’s submission on the application is here.
McCarthy Stone have submitted a planning application for phase 3 of the Bartram’s Mowers development on Bluebell Road. The proposals are for the “demolition of existing buildings, erection of 23 No. bungalows, 74 No. apartments, ancillary communal facilities, landscaping, access and associated works.” This is a slight reduction on the number of bungalows in their previous (withdrawn) application for phase 3. The planning reference is 22/01447/F.
YVS are examining the proposals, and intend to comment; but please send in any concerns you have about this development in a sensitive area of the Yare Valley. Do previous comments you may have made still apply?
A good start point for an overall view is the “Layout Plan – Proposed” in documents dated November 15 2022. Comments should be submitted to Norwich Planning before December 29th. Please check with the Norwich Planning Department if you wish to submit comment after this date.
The Yare Valley Response to this Application is here.
The McCarthy and Stone Planning Application 22/00298/F for Phase 3 of their development on Bluebell Road has been withdrawn. The Yare Valley Society strongly opposed the proposals in an ecological sensitive area of the Valley. It raised concerns about the high-density housing in an ecologically sensitive area, the unsatisfactory arrangements for the drainage of the site, and the lack of ecological gain. Concerns of other consultative bodies included access to the site, roads not to the standard for adoption, and unsatisfactory parking provision, as well as echoing concerns about drainage arrangements.
Planet Patrol is asking people to head to their local waterways for about 15 minutes around the 14th, 15th, and 16th of October 2022 to report on their condition. It is part of the Planet Patrol Autumn Water Watch programme.
How clean is the water you swing over?
“Water is central to the health, well-being and livelihood of everyone on this planet. In the UK, the biggest risk to water quality is the ongoing lack of sampling, monitoring and reporting. The impact on both human health and the ecosystems that rely on them are still largely unobserved and unreported. Right now we have a monumental information gap that needs to be urgently filled, and that can be started through simple observations – something we can all do.
If you don’t truly understand the problem, how can you solve it?”
To take part you can download their App from the Apple or Google store or you can complete their online form.
