Category: Flora and Fauna

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Welcome to Strawberry Field

A colourful and attractive information panel has appeared at the Bluebell Road gated entrance to the Strawberry Field. It shows how the paths in the field link with the newly resurfaced Yare Valley Walk beside the river, as well as providing other guidance.

Dog owners are asked to soften the impact of their dogs on the wildlife habitats, e.g. of water voles. A dog swim point is marked, and dog owners should restrict their dog’s swimming to this area only, and in all other places to keep dogs out of the river and ditches.

An addition that could be usefully made to display map would be to show the new (unsurfaced) path that runs along at the foot of the Cringleford fly-over embankment and links the south corner of the new McCarthy and Stone Daisy Hill Court development with the river walk. The approximate line of the path has been added in the photograph below as a thick dark red dotted line. More opportunities for circular walks!

Welcome to Strawberry Field
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Greater Norwich Draft Local Plan delayed

You may have been wondering what has happened to the consultations on a new Greater Norwich Local Plan. Many of us put much effort in to responding to the earlier consultation on sites proposed for development. We were seriously concerned about the impact some of the proposed sites would have on wildlife and informal recreation in the Yare Valley. The completion and publication of a draft plan for submission to the next stage of public consultation was scheduled for September to October 2019.

It now seems that there are outstanding issues still to be resolved by the partner authorities: Norwich, Broadland, and South Norfolk district councils. The date now expected for the draft plan public consultation stage is now January – March 2020. You can find more information on the new Greater Norwich Plan here.

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Giant Hogweed returns to the Valley

A YVS member has reported the return of Giant Hogweed to the Valley. As last year, it was spotted near the Cringleford/Eaton Flyover. The Sap can cause severe skin burns and can pose a serious risk to people unaware of its harmful nature. See the news for May 2018 for more information and pictures.

The Norwich Fringe Project is aware of the presence of Giant Hogweed in the Valley, and has passed information on to the department in Norwich City Council that deals with the invasive species and dangerous plants. Treatment should follow, but in the meantime take care.

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New Planning Application for UEA/Rugby Club Car Park

A new Planning Application (Reference 2019/0521) has been submitted to South Norfolk District Council for the expansion of the UEA Sports Field Car Park adjacent to Colney Lane. Permissions have already been obtained for the expansion of the car park. These  relate to the UEA Rugby Club development; but there are some significant differences between the latest application, and the previous permissions.

The search page for the application is here , insert the reference 2019/0521.

The Yare Valley Society has a number of concerns about the new application:

1. The impermeable surface proposed for the extra parking spaces will result in increased water run-off

2. Proposals for new lighting, and the impact of resulting light pollution on wildlife

3. The grossly inadequate arrangements for cyclists attempting to negotiate the proposed entrance to the car park. This is on the Norwich Pink Pedalway – a key commuting route to the Hospital and Research Park.

The Yare Valley Society has made formal objection to the proposals.

Please have a look at the proposals and send in your own comments. 

 

 

 

 

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Local Residents put finishing touches to Bridge of Dreams

Eaton Village Residents Association working with the Norwich Fringe Project have planted trees on the river banks at the approaches to the new bridge, and fenced off a culvert on the approach path. Their efforts will ensure the greenery will soon reclaim the river banks with renewed vigour. Peace and tranquillity will return to the river and we can all pause on the bridge and dream. Follow the links to find out more.

Norwich Fringe Project is always pleased to hear from people wishing to volunteer to help maintain and improve the green space around Norwich.

Protecting the riverbank planting
Whips go in on the bank
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YVS and local Parishes join in protest

YVS and Colney and Cringleford Parishes have written a joint letter to South Norfolk District Council Planning Department expressing their concern that UEA has failed to address important issues raised by objectors to UEA’s most recent Rugby Cub planning application (2018/1830).

An email dated 26th September 2018 from the UEA’s Agent claims to respond to objections, but instead ignores any reference to many of the legitimate planning concerns that the objectors, including the CPRE, have raised.

A major concern (amongst several) is that car parking spaces are built within the Yare Valley protected green space for a Rugby Club facility that does not exist and may never exist. The text of the letter can be found here.

Go to our Planning page for more background information on this application.

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Reporting dead fish

We have had a report of dead fish being seen in the river.

If you see any dead fish in the river, or notice any other environmental incident, please note the precise details of the incident and report it to the Environmental Agency using their 24 hour hotline 0800 80 70 60. Examples of the incidents the Environmental Agency want to know about are given at www.gov.uk/report-an-environmental-incident.

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Is Giant Hogweed on the march?

A small Giant Hogweed lurks near the flyover:

YVS member Martin Pooley has spotted Giant Hogweed growing in the Valley and has provided us with numerous recent photographs. Giant Hogweed is an invasive non-native species. The Sap can cause severe skin burns and can pose a serious risk to people unaware of its harmful nature.

Take closer look:

Find out more about Giant Hogweed and other invasive species at:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=458 and http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/giant-hogweed

More information for landowners who find Hogweed on their land is at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-the-spread-of-harmful-invasive-and-non-native-plants

Hunt the Hogweed

Please post pictures of any Giant Hogweed or other invasive non-native species you find in the Valley on the YVS Facebook Page. A picture or words that reveals its location would be particularly helpful. This will help us better assess the extent of the problem of invasive plants in the Valley.