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Grimley and Holt (3 Viewers)

Who now actually owns the Camp Lane Pits? I wish I had kept the sales particulars but I recall the site being offered in about six lots (including the house plot)

The Church Commissioners have put the land up for sale. Details can be found here with further detail included on the downloadable brochure. No price is quoted but I understand it to be a significant 6-figure sum. The RSPB were informed when it first went on the market and I have emailed them the link this time round.

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 
The Church Commissioners have put the land up for sale. Details can be found here with further detail included on the downloadable brochure. No price is quoted but I understand it to be a significant 6-figure sum. The RSPB were informed when it first went on the market and I have emailed them the link this time round.

Brian
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Worcester Birding

Thanks Brian - is this the second time this has been brought to the market; I thought it was advertised at the same time as the house plot in the NW corner? Are the Church Commissioners retaining the pool north of the causeway or is it owned by a third party. It will make managing it as a whole more difficult.
 
Brian. Is the guy at the new house actually disturbing breeding birds, if so Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 should apply. Perhaps contact should be made with local Wildlife Officer at West Mercia Police. A word in his ear may educate him as to his responsibilities.

I've not seen any disturbance but on the back of the quietest spring I can ever remember I haven't been spending much time down there since the house has been occupied. There is certainly daily disturbance due to out of control dogs along the causeway footpath. When the site was restored to its current state there were signs attached to all the access gates requesting dogs be kept on leads but these have gradually disappeared.

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 
Thanks Brian - is this the second time this has been brought to the market; I thought it was advertised at the same time as the house plot in the NW corner? Are the Church Commissioners retaining the pool north of the causeway or is it owned by a third party. It will make managing it as a whole more difficult.

It was advertised at the same time in various plots but now the remainder appears to be offered as one plot. From the map on the PDF brochure it appears that the NE pool is part of the sale. The NW pool is within the grounds of the new house.

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 
Brian,

I see that you have brought the details of the sale to the attention of the RSPB, what about the Wildlife trust?

Also as far as disturbance along the banks of the NW pool next to the house I have witnessed to situations where the house owner has walked along the bank and allowed his dog to chase after birds. It is clear that there have not been any nests in that area this year so he has not been disturbing nest sites but perhaps that is the reason. On both occasions I have taken photos but cannot seem to be able to upload them on here. If it is his land then I guess there is little anyone can really do??
 
Brian,

I see that you have brought the details of the sale to the attention of the RSPB, what about the Wildlife trust?

Also as far as disturbance along the banks of the NW pool next to the house I have witnessed to situations where the house owner has walked along the bank and allowed his dog to chase after birds. It is clear that there have not been any nests in that area this year so he has not been disturbing nest sites but perhaps that is the reason. On both occasions I have taken photos but cannot seem to be able to upload them on here. If it is his land then I guess there is little anyone can really do??

Worcs WT are aware that the site is available and have been over to look around.

I agree there appears to be little if any nesting activity on the NW pool. It's probably due to the fact that it's so close to the public footpath. If a Schedule 1 breeding species was being disturbed then there would be an issue but the LRPs appear to be settled elsewhere.

Another issue is the obsession by the local farmer for tidying up. The pictures below shows his latest effort on a strip of land with no economic value. Complete waste of time and resources. This area was full of wild flowers and a pair of nesting Whitethroats.

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 

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Worcs WT are aware that the site is available and have been over to look around.

I agree there appears to be little if any nesting activity on the NW pool. It's probably due to the fact that it's so close to the public footpath. If a Schedule 1 breeding species was being disturbed then there would be an issue but the LRPs appear to be settled elsewhere.

Another issue is the obsession by the local farmer for tidying up. The pictures below shows his latest effort on a strip of land with no economic value. Complete waste of time and resources. This area was full of wild flowers and a pair of nesting Whitethroats.

Brian
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Worcester Birding

If the WWT were interested surely a bid could be made subject to a public appeal been done before are you talking to Trust Brian also Lottery funding ?
 
If the WWT were interested surely a bid could be made subject to a public appeal been done before are you talking to Trust Brian also Lottery funding ?

No idea, Paul. The price is clearly the stumbling block. I can't remember exactly but seem to think it was originally in the region of £750K for all the plots but that included a couple of plots already sold including the building plot. So the remainder currently up for sale could still be somewhere between £350 and £500K.

The 'elephant in the room' is the Worcester north-western bypass which on one plan I saw could plough straight through the Camp Lane Pits complex and over the river to link up with A449 roundabout at Claines.

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 
No idea, Paul. The price is clearly the stumbling block. I can't remember exactly but seem to think it was originally in the region of £750K for all the plots but that included a couple of plots already sold including the building plot. So the remainder currently up for sale could still be somewhere between £350 and £500K.

The 'elephant in the room' is the Worcester north-western bypass which on one plan I saw could plough straight through the Camp Lane Pits complex and over the river to link up with A449 roundabout at Claines.

Brian
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Worcester Birding

I had forgotten about the new bypass that could thwart any possible acquisition not only by the trust but by private bidders.All in all future is not bright we are slowly losing sites in Worcestershire Bredon H has effectively gone and Clifton is in the balance must try and remain optimistic.
 
No idea, Paul. The price is clearly the stumbling block. I can't remember exactly but seem to think it was originally in the region of £750K for all the plots but that included a couple of plots already sold including the building plot. So the remainder currently up for sale could still be somewhere between £350 and £500K.

The 'elephant in the room' is the Worcester north-western bypass which on one plan I saw could plough straight through the Camp Lane Pits complex and over the river to link up with A449 roundabout at Claines.

Brian
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Worcester Birding

Is this definitely going ahead? The last I heard (from someone who is involved in one of the local councils) is that the proposed new bridge would be prohibitively expensive. Perhaps this has been reviewed since then.
 
Is this definitely going ahead? The last I heard (from someone who is involved in one of the local councils) is that the proposed new bridge would be prohibitively expensive. Perhaps this has been reviewed since then.

May be not in the next few years, but given the amount of proposed housing development to the west and south of the city it seems difficult to see how it can be avoided. On the SWDP website here there is a map for the 'Temple Laugherne (West Worcester Urban Extension)' which shows a new road heading north and north-north east towards Hallow. If this goes ahead then it would be bizarre if they didn't complete the ring road over to Claines but with Worcester's poor track record for forward thinking then nothing would surprise me. Presumably the relevant councils will demand a contribution from the housing developers towards the cost of the bypass in the same way they have for the widening of the southern bypass.

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 
May be not in the next few years, but given the amount of proposed housing development to the west and south of the city it seems difficult to see how it can be avoided. On the SWDP website here there is a map for the 'Temple Laugherne (West Worcester Urban Extension)' which shows a new road heading north and north-north east towards Hallow. If this goes ahead then it would be bizarre if they didn't complete the ring road over to Claines but with Worcester's poor track record for forward thinking then nothing would surprise me. Presumably the relevant councils will demand a contribution from the housing developers towards the cost of the bypass in the same way they have for the widening of the southern bypass.

Brian
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Worcester Birding

Hi Brian,

You may be right. I was told that the geology of the area meant that a new bridge would require uprated foundations and that the total cost of the bridge alone would be in excess of £100 million (and that was some years back). For the foreseeable future, they seem to be concentrating on the southern bypass - the details of which can be seen below (phase 2 just completed). This will be in progress up until c2026 and will facilitate access to the west of Worcester. This total scheme (road dualling, bridge modifications etc.) appears to be the more cost-effective option (estimated c £120 million).
 

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Hi Brian,

You may be right. I was told that the geology of the area meant that a new bridge would require uprated foundations and that the total cost of the bridge alone would be in excess of £100 million (and that was some years back). For the foreseeable future, they seem to be concentrating on the southern bypass - the details of which can be seen below (phase 2 just completed). This will be in progress up until c2026 and will facilitate access to the west of Worcester. This total scheme (road dualling, bridge modifications etc.) appears to be the more cost-effective option (estimated c £120 million).

Thanks for this Dave. Staggering cost figures let alone the vehicle numbers. If there are over 30,000 vehicles currently using the southern bypass per day (and another 35,000 using the central road bridge per day!), then I dread to think what it will be like in 2026 with all the planned development. No doubt we'll be back to square one with all the council bods scratching their heads wondering whether to widen it all over again!

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 
Thanks for this Dave. Staggering cost figures let alone the vehicle numbers. If there are over 30,000 vehicles currently using the southern bypass per day (and another 35,000 using the central road bridge per day!), then I dread to think what it will be like in 2026 with all the planned development. No doubt we'll be back to square one with all the council bods scratching their heads wondering whether to widen it all over again!

Brian
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Worcester Birding

You're not wrong. It seems to be tacit government policy to fill the whole of England with more and more people and turn this once green and pleasant land into a great big housing estate! All in the name of economic progress - that's a laugh - GDP per capita (the important metric in terms of quality of life) is declining. What a great future for the next generation to inherit (NOT!) - the only jobs being low-grade ZHC's, the environment ruined and the fat cats laughing all the way. I'll get off my soap-box now - best enjoy the birds while we still can.
 
You're not wrong. It seems to be tacit government policy to fill the whole of England with more and more people and turn this once green and pleasant land into a great big housing estate! All in the name of economic progress - that's a laugh - GDP per capita (the important metric in terms of quality of life) is declining. What a great future for the next generation to inherit (NOT!) - the only jobs being low-grade ZHC's, the environment ruined and the fat cats laughing all the way. I'll get off my soap-box now - best enjoy the birds while we still can.

Couldn't agree more Dave, it's a mess and it's wildlife that is suffering. When I was in the YOC I would walk the River Teme from Lower Wick to the River Severn confluence and Tree Sparrows and Yellow Wagtails were common place in the fields where the southern link road runs, but all long gone now.

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 
This is the response from the RSPB ref, sale of Camp Lane Pits:

"Thank you for your message of 24th June regarding a wetland habitat for sale in Worcestershire.

I can confirm that the Area Manager, Regional Reserves Manager and I, have reviewed the sales details. Whilst the site is a fantastic local site, with some notable species, unfortunately RSPB are unable to pursue a purchase at this time.

Due to the cost of management of small sites, we are unable to effectively manage a site of only 25ha. We maintain a targeted approach to our acquisitions budget to ensure each pound spent results in as much gain for biodiversity as possible.

I would like to thank you for your time in bringing the site to our attention; we always welcome the opportunity to assess sites for beneficial management"
.

Given that this site is too small by their current criteria then it would appear Worcs will remain a county devoid of RSPB reserves.

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 
Thanks for the update (and trying) Brian - what does that leave, the Wildlife Trust and WMBC?

Good question Phil. I will try and find out what Worcs WT's current thinking is. I would imagine WMBC are out of the equation given the estimated asking price?

I have suggested to the RSPB they need to reconsider. It's all very well having these large wetland sites dotted all along the east coast but what about securing some smaller inland sites too.

Brian
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Worcester Birding
 
Well done Brian for your efforts here. Especially with challenging the RSPB. Let's hope that the wildlife trust will give it some serious consideration.
 

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