LI South East: Medmerry Realignment Scheme

Off to Medmerry on the south coast for a talk and visit organised by the LI South East to see the the new flood defence scheme (the biggest in the UK) which is nearing completion. 

Over 7 km of clay banks have been constructed to create an area which will be allowed to flood naturally, alleviating the risk of flooding to Selsey and over 350 properties, two holiday parks and a water treatment works. A breach has been made which allows the sea water in and out and the plan is to construct several kilometres of paths for walking and cycling.

The site is owned by the RSPBA and the new wetland areas will attract various wildfowl and wading birds.

London: No City For Cyclists

The Danish architect and planner Jan Gehl  has said in a report in  The Guardian  that cycling provision in London is 'laughable'. Gehl is a hugely respected urban designer who has focused much of his career on improving the quality of urban life by adopting a people based approach with an emphasis on travelling by bike and foot.

He went on to say: "In Copenhagen I cycle with one grandchild at the front of the bike and another at the back, and a five-year-old grandchild on his own bike next to me. That can be done if you have bicycle lanes which are proper lanes which have kerbs and proper junctions. But in London, never,"

His comments come in the wake of the deaths of several cyclists in the capital which have received extensive coverage in the national media. 

Gehl has worked in major cities all over the world including New York and is responsible for the award winning New Road in Brighton - one of the few shared spaces in the UK which allows pedestrians, motorists and cyclists to use the same space.

he is also quoted as saying "It is my opinion that to have a substantive bicycle culture it is not only for the extreme sport enthusiasts, the freaks who think, 'It's a good day if I survive'. If, like in Copenhagen, you have a bicycle system that's a real system, it should be city-wide in the major streets. It should be like sidewalks – it goes from one entrance door to another entrance door."

The vast majority of children in the small Sussex village where we live go to school in a neighbouring village and very few of them cycle as it is simply too dangerous with no safe cycling route, most of them have to rely on buses which are expensive, overcrowded  and unreliable.

According to Gehl if people walk and bicycle more it will lead to livelier,  more liveable, more attractive,  more safe, more sustainable urban environments with obvious health benefits.

At a recent Stop Killing Cyclists Campaign demonstration in London there were calls for 10% of the TfL budget to go on cycling (compared to 35% in Holland) which would be an excellent start but Local and Regional Planning Authorities should also be funding safe cycling routes with developers made to contribute more to enhancing and extending local cycle routes.

Rogues Gallery Part 01

Out and about you see some things and you just wonder: bad design, bad planning, lack of maintenance....

All of the examples below were spotted within a single 48 hour period last week, as a nation why do we have so little pride in our public spaces? 

Location; the centre of a well known (and very prosperous) West Sussex Market Town. I suspect it may have been hit by a car - possibly doing it a favour. I look forward to revisiting to see if a replacement has been planted.

Public highway adjacent to a recent (within 5 years) private housing development to the centre of a small Sussex village. 

Is it any wonder these Cherry trees  are struggling.....?

Tree Health & The Landscape - Seminar (Part 1)

Last week I attended a seminar which was hosted by Barcham Trees on Tree Health and The Landscape. Following an overview by Colin Moore of the Landscape Institute, Dr. David Slawson from the Food and Environment Research Agency spoke. After a brief resume of the pests which are currently affecting trees and shrubs in this country we were left in no doubt as to the seriousness and scale of the threats this country currently faces. 

Several of the main contenders (Including Phytophthora ramorum and Chalara fraxinea) could potentially change the British landscape as we know it, indeed this is happening already with the large scale felling of Larch trees in Wales and South West Scotland.

Agrilus planipennis - Emerald Ash Borer  has recently been introduced to this country via imported package material

 As landscape professionals the advice was:

• Get involved - look for signs of disease and pests on site, disseminate knowledge with colleagues and clients, promote initiatives such as OPAL which encourage people to study and explore their local environment;
• Awareness of current legislation; 
• Adopt best practice - eg. source planting stock which have been propagated and grown in this country, avoid possible spreading of diseases through thorough cleaning of footwear.

Worryingly, when asked what the greatest threat to trees and vegetation in the UK he answered that we probably did not know what it was as it hadn't been discovered yet............

Robin Snell and Garsington Opera House

Attended an interesting lecture yesterday evening as part of the 'Inspire' series of lectures hosted by the University of Brighton (http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/whats-on/gallery-theatre/public-lectures). The speaker was Robin Snell who was project architect for Glyndebourne Opera House prior to setting up his own architectural practice.

Topics covered included man-made versus natural, Cedric Price and Fun Palaces, how buildings sit in the landscape and how the way a building is constructed can profoundly influence the design. 

A  key early influence was Joseph Paxton, famous for Crystal Palace (currently very much in the news - (http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/chinese-developer-plans-to-rebuild-crystal-palace/5058418.article) which employed a revolutionary, modular, prefabricated system and glass. 

A recent project is Garsington Opera Pavilion at Wormsley which was designed to be de-mountable due to planning constraints although the planning authorities have subsequently decided they are happy for the building remain standing throughout the year -  interesting to see how lifelong influences and concerns manifest themselves in a modern building which nevertheless sits comfortably in a very traditional English landscape. 

Sloe Berries

The warm summer has meant the hedgerows have been overflowing with fruit for free, Crab Apples, Rose Hips, Brambles and of course Sloe Berries have all been plentiful in our local field edges. 

Many of the gardens, allotments and community gardens have fruit trees which have been laden with apples, plums and greengages - I doubt if enough people make use of this food for free preferring the convenience of supermarket  prepacked fruit. 

Part of the problem is that much of the fruit becomes ripe at the same time however there are scores of recipes for preserving fruit and enjoying produce throughout the winter - and few more delicious (or fortifying on a cold winters day)  than Sloe Gin

Sloe Berries have a variety of names in the different counties of southern England; Bullens, Heg Pegs, Slags, Snags, Winter Kecksies and Winter Pick are all local names for the fruit of the Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). 

These tart and berries are pretty unpleasant raw but can be made into a clear jelly as well as Sloe Gin. The recipe we use (handed down through generations) is a pound of sloes to a pound of sugar topped up with gin - the berries have to be pricked with a pin prior to bottling but freezing them will achieve the same result. (Many folk reckon that it is best to pick the berries after the first frosts to achieve a similar result). The bottle is then supposed to be agitated on a daily basis for the first few weeks however my father used to place the bottle in the boot of his car - a particularly efficient alternative!  

Brighton Flower Meadow

Cycling along the main route into Brighton a few weeks ago I glanced across Preston Park and was dazzled by two large areas of wildflower planting adjacent to the main road. The planting is part of an initiative by Brighton and Hove Council and is located on two disused bowling greens. I had no idea bowling was so unfashionable but no matter, where bowling enthusiasts lose out bees and butterflies win. (There are apparently still bowling opportunities in Preston Park)

The flowers include cosmos, nigella, poppies, cornflower, soapwort, marigolds, lupins and borage and were sown by BHCC staff and local volunteers.

The overall effect is stunning and of course the wildflower areas are a low maintenance option that will both attract pollinators and provide an attractive feature for local residents and visitors to Brighton. 

Makes me wonder where else there may be opportunities for mass plantings of wildflowers on public open spaces which are not used to their full potential.......

Chalkhill Blue Butterfly: Summer Spectacle

Up early yesterday morning for a walk to and over Wolstonbury Hill to the south of Hurstpierpoint. A beautiful sunny morning with a slight breeze - the green grassland slopes looking stunning in the summer sunshine dotted with jewel like wild flower specimens. 

 


The western slope of Wolstonbury above Newtimber Chalk Pit was inundated with Chalkhill Blue (Polyommatus coridon) sometimes also called the Small Blue Butterfly, the preceding warm night had obviously stirred them as there were dozens of them flittering over the low grass and flowers with a restless energy.The Chalkhill Blue is the UK’s smallest butterfly and the caterpillars rely almost exclusively on Kidney Vetch, a plant species which is a poor competitor and which does well where soils are thin and lacking in nutrients. The grazed areas on the south downs provide perfect conditions for the Kidney Vetch, hence this morning’s Chalkhill Blue butterfly spectacle. A friend who is more knowledgeable than me reckons they are a bit late this year due to the cold Spring.

Butterfly collecting was terribly fashionable during the 19^th century and there were sites on the south downs which were kept secret by commercial collectors as there were so many butterflies to be found, the Chalkhill Blue being one of the most sough after specimens. Nowadays, a far greater threat is the encroachment of scrub which prevents Kidney Vetch from regenerating which is why grazing cattle and sheep are so vital to maintaining the ecological balance of the south downs.

Sussex Prairie Gardens

We had read about the (local to us) Sussex Prairie Gardens and finally got round to visiting a few weeks ago on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

The garden is approximately 6 acres and surrounded by mature boundary trees. The owners have created a landscape which features predominately perennial planting in a ‘series of interlocking arcs of large planted borders in a naturalistic style’. A series of secondary access paths allow visitors to walk amongst the planting areas, providing an opportunity to enjoy a ‘close up’ experience.

There is some tree and hedge structural  planting within the garden however it has yet to reach maturity and therefore the overall impression is of a fairly flat, open space. There are a couple of small ponds which have created an opportunity for different plant communities as well as specialist insects (dragon / damsel flies). 

Although we thoroughly enjoyed our visit I feel the garden may have benefitted from a more ‘drift’ or 'intermingling' style of planting – the planting has been laid out in a predominately ‘block' style which I felt detracted from the intended naturalistic design aim. That said, the owners also use the plants as stock to supply their nursery and this requirement has perhaps influenced the planting layout.

The garden is not open during the winter which is a shame as the colours and forms on a frosty, sunny morning with a low winter sun must be stunning. Each February, the owners wait for the wind to be in the right direction and then burn off all the vegetation in order to clear the garden to make way for new growth, unfortunately health and safety obligations preclude this event from being attended by the public.

Overall the mass of colour and movement  make for a wonderful effect and on the afternoon of our visit the gardens were awash with insects and butterflies. A small nursery area offered very competitively priced plants and the tea and home-made cakes were terrific.  All in all well worth a visit and the owners are to be congratulated on their vision and achievement.