Down in the Woods
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| Starting path restoration in the gardens |
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to meet up with other National
Lottery Heritage Fund recipients in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It was
held in one of the borough’s largest Heritage Fund recipient project, the Belong
centre, an elder care centre. We saw displays on other local projects as
diverse as a heritage railway project and a nature park, and were able to find
out more about how groups used their funding.
There was a film presentation
too, ranging to the New Vic Youth Theatre’s short films inspired by oral
history workshops, to a film about soldiers in WW1. Fascinating to see the
range of projects that fall under ‘heritage’ in the Newcastle-under-Lyme.
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| National Lottery heritage Fund film presentation |
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| A heritage exhibition at Belong |
We’re lucky Betley Court Gardens are based in such a pretty
borough, and a large part of the attractiveness comes from the combination of
conserved historic buildings and wealth of woodlands. Indeed the ‘under-Lyme’
part of the borough’s name is derived from the fact that the town sits beneath
ancient Lime forests. The trees of the borough also contribute towards the
Urban Forest, a network of green across towns and cities in the UK.
In Betley, much of the main road has been designated a
‘Conservation Area’ and so any changes to buildings or trees are subject to
scrutiny by the local council, to ensure that the area is not spoilt. Trees in
the gardens at Betley Court contribute greatly to the ‘feel’ of the village,
even if it only glimpses of treetops over walls and rooftops. We’ve had a lot
of valuable advice from the Planning Department and independent arboriculturalists
regarding the management of our trees, especially down where we are planning to
build the new visitors’ hub.
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| 'X' marks the condemned trees |
Work has begun to clear the site and we now have permission
to fell some of them. They have been inspected and condemned trees marked with
hi-viz paint – ‘X’ for felling ‘XS’ for felling AND stump removal. We are
having lots ideas on how to reuse the wood, including edging, habitat piles for
nature, and I think Nigel would like to have a go at chainsaw carving! The wood’s
too good for it all to go on a fire. Other trees will be retained tidied up,
dead and damaged limbs removed. This will return the area back to the grassy
parkland of 40 years ago. Our new building’s foundations will need to stay clear
of the root zone of some rather handsome broadleaved trees including a mature
beech tree that teems with wildlife.
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| Marking the widened path |
Elsewhere, our handymen, the two Mr O’s have marked out the
paths, so that they can be edged and resurfaced with gravel. This will start to
smarten the grounds and make it easier to use for our visitors and tenants
alike. We’ve already had a soakaway added to one of the paths do deal with path
erosion. It’s a mammoth task to do, one of the most important on the project. Hopefully
the weather will be warm so the two Mr O’s can make progress!
All best wishes
Ladybird Su
A link for more info on urban forests:
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