April 2009

Netteswell Plantation footbridge
Grassroots Grant for HCV
Greenteam Volunteers
Stort Water Meadows ditches restoration
Wildspace! wins Harlow Hotspots! Competition 2008
"Forest Funtasia" under way
60 Years Wood update

Netteswell Plantation footbridge

planned footbridge - from CAD drawing elevations
Click on picture or here for larger wide view or elevation (use back button to return).

This project was entered by HCV for the 2008 Harlow Hotspots! Competition at last year's Town Show. The proposal was to build a footbridge across the Toddbrook roughly half way along the stretch running through Netteswell Plantation. This is one Harlow's County Wildlife sites and is just to the south-east of the town centre. The footpath running down the valley of a small side stream from the cycle track is shown on OS maps as crossing the brook and on the ground there are traces of a ford. The only other crossing between the cycle track at the western end and Tripton Road to the east are the rather hazardous stepping stones across the weir where the wood meets the small meadow at the eastern end of the site.

The proposal was narrowly pushed into third place behind Wildspace! (see below) and the Town Park sculpture. Since then funding has been been found by Darren Fazackerly, Harlow Landscape and Biodiversity Manager, for the materials on the basis that volunteers would build it. The span is 8 metres and the construction is heavyweight timber throughout except for the concrete foundations. The design is based on a standard design by the Paths for All Partnership. The last serious bridge HCV built was the little bridge at Marshgate Spring on the route to the zig-zag bridge to the Stort Meadows back in 1995.

The programme to build it is pretty ambitious:

• Sat 4th & Sun 5th April: foundations
• Sat 11th - Sat 18th April: prepare wood for deck & parapets at Parndon Wood
• Sun 19th April: Install main beams
• Mon 20th - Wed 22nd April: Install deck and parapets

Grassroots Grant for HCV

Greenteam Volunteers

Stort Water Meadows ditches restoration

Wildspace! wins Harlow Hotspots! Competition 2008

"Forest Funtasia" under way

60 Years Wood update

In November 2007 HCV started planting trees on a strip of land at the top of the cemetary, which in time it was hoped would form a new wood linking Parndon Wood with Hospital and Risdens wood, with all the benefits to wildlife of a joined up habitat. Unfortunately with the end of agricultural set aside last year it was discovered that, although Harlow Council owned the land, it is leased out as farmland. The area planted has been allowed to remain, but there is no prospect in the foreseeable future of extending it as originally intended.

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