Not unrelated to the last post written by @loubgray, here is a copy of the letter sent recently to Norfolk County Council #RoadVerge #SarahsVerge #WensumEIA Dear Councillor Harrison You may recall that Ryburgh parish was a winner in the most recent Pride in Norfolk Awards. One of the contributory factors to that award was the community’s work in maintaining and improving its existing natural environment. The community has not rested on its laurels and two of the groups behind the Pride in Norfolk entry have launched further projects in the parish. Ryburgh Village Amenity Group (RVAG) and Ryburgh Wildlife Group (RWG) have combined firstly to undertake an ecological survey of the parish and more recently has begun discussions to convert a little used area of the village’s playing field into a community woodland. One element of our ecological survey (which will also feed into Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service records) would be to assess the rich variety of native wild flowers on the roadside verges in and around Ryburgh, including those either side of the two main roads leading into the village. When you take into account the importance of the River Wensum (a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation), which runs through the village, I am sure you will agree that such surveys take on greater significance. Roadside verges can support a diverse collection of species, provide opportunities to link habitats and act as corridors for wildlife to thrive on – including the pollinators vital to Norfolk’s agricultural interests. Clearly, road safety must be the priority but, with some carefully thought-out planning and management, there must be stretches of verge that could be left uncut, with a beneficial reduction in the cost to the public purse. The RVAG and RWG has an army of volunteers who are very willing to work with Norfolk County Council and Ryburgh Parish Council to identify those areas of roadside verge within the parish that could be left uncut. We have already had informal discussions with Ed Stocker, NCC Ecologist at the Environment, Transport & Development Department, who is very interested in helping to co-ordinate a sympathetic approach to verge management within Ryburgh parish. We understand that, with his help, a similar scheme has already been undertaken with great success in Little Cressingham, so perhaps you could also liaise with him. As Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Development and Waste, we would appreciate your thoughts and support in undertaking such an initiative. Yours sincerely
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 12:45:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015