Warden’s report April 2010
Thanks largely to the generosity of the Freehold Tenants and the Friends of the
Commons, it has been a busy work period.
We have continued the clearance work between London Rd and Castle Rd to extend
the open area and link it to adjacent footpaths. The resulting stumps have been
ground out and the rest of the topsoil removed to the edges of the site where I hope to
plant native trees and shrubs to soften and diversify the woodland edge. We have
removed most of the small roots that remained in the soil and then harrowed and
seeded the area with a nurse crop of our restoration grass mix. The line of holly trees
around the perimeter of the site that were cut to about six foot tall have sprouted well
and the volunteers planted a hundred hawthorn saplings in amongst the hedge area to
reinforce it.
This has been a much larger project than was originally envisaged when we were
simply going to spread heather seed onto a comparatively rough site and, inevitably, it
has gone over budget. However, I am confident that the resulting site will be well
worth it.
We have carried out extensive clearance at Edgcumbe Rocks. Scrub, saplings and
bramble have been removed to expose a great deal more of the sandstone outcrop.
This area too has been landscaped to enable us to maintain it relatively cheaply and it
has also been seeded with our grass mix to try and keep birch and sycamore seedlings
at bay.
More of the slope between Mt Ephraim and London Rd has been cleared of bramble
and saplings. This year the work took place on either side of the drive to Gibraltar
Cottage and Rocklea and extended towards the footpath that runs from Mt Ephraim to
the traffic lights. As with the other areas, we will be seeding this site with our nurse
crop.
Below the Victoria Grove, we have ground out the stumps in the new glade created by
the volunteers to enable easier maintenance, and we have widened the margins of the
popular path that runs behind the cricket pavilion to create a new glade there. This
work was taking place whilst the new cricket nets were being constructed and we
came to an agreement with the contractor allowing him to dispose of his spoil on the
new glade site in return for him landscaping the area so that again we can manage the
area with our flail cutter.
We have continued our clearance of roadside trees with a large scale removal of
scrub, much of it elm, adjacent to the A26 opposite Union House. At this site too, we
have removed the stumps to facilitate future maintenance of the area. Scrub and
potentially dangerous trees have also been removed adjacent to Hungershall Park and,
in the same area, holly has been removed from the edges of the Racecourse to allow
light onto a persistently wet area, enabling grass to grow and take up the moisture.
On Rusthall Common, we have restored the drainage along the edge of the Stone
Path, which runs from the entrance to Rusthall Elms to the High Street. As well as
restoring the ditch, we have installed culverts at five spots along its length to improve
the paths leading from Common View to Coach Rd and beyond.
In the opposite corner of Rusthall Common where the Common meets Nevill Court,
we have carried out extensive clearance of the rock outcrop at Happy Valley. This
work, funded by the Friends, has opened up a very dramatic series of rocks that have
been hidden by holly and scrub for many years.
Sadly, since that work has been carried out we have suffered a pollution incident at
this site with sewage tainted water seeping to the surface within the cleared area. The
immediate site of the pollution has been fenced off and the cause is being investigated
by the Borough Council Environmental team and the Environment Agency. As yet,
we have no clue as to the source of the pollution.
Routine work has continued throughout the period with the edging of paths and
replacement of damaged posts and barriers comprising the bulk of the work. In the
last few weeks we have started to see the problems of summer increase with a marked
jump in the levels of litter as well as a sudden rise in the number of camps used by
people sleeping rough.
On a positive note, a young resident, Sebastian Avery, has organised a group of
friends to assist the Conservators by carrying out clearance of litter from the
woodland within the Common. We are delighted to accept this kind offer and we are
regarding members of the group in the same way as our other volunteers for insurance
purposes. I am also, if Conservators permit, planning to purchase gloves, bags and
litter pickers for this group.
As we change seasons we have moved into grass cutting; the first cut of the year has
already been carried out. The grass grew little during the cold winter, so we have
managed to achieve a reasonable standard of finish right away. As the season moves
on we should be able to change from rotary to cylinder cutters and achieve a far better
result.