Update From the Commons
With the equinox passed, the weather is changing fast now and we are experiencing the rain and strong winds typical of this time of year. The temperatures are of course tumbling as well, which is a bit of a shock after the long warm summer we have enjoyed; to make matters worse, the clocks go back in a couple of weeks. Our work on the Commons is of course controlled very much by the seasons and as we move into this new period, so the focus of our attention turns from grass cutting and clearance to tree work.
All of our meadow areas and tracks have now been cut and the only remaining grass cutting is the short amenity grass which will continue into the autumn as long as the grass keeps growing. This now includes the wildflower sites next to London Rd which have been cut and cleared and are back in the routine mowing regime. The wildflower site below Church Rd did not produce many blooms this year but there is plenty of evidence that the plant plugs that we put into the sward last spring have established well, so I would expect to see more dramatic results next year, especially as we have crown lifted the trees on this site to allow more light penetration. The experimental area that was left uncut between London Rd and Mt Ephraim above Church Rd this year is to be brought into the programme, although over a reduced area. As with the first site, we will be introducing wildflower seed and plugs into the area to increase diversity.
Our tree work programme will inevitably start with remedial work to trees damaged in the autumn gales but once the leaves are fully down, we will start on this years clearances. This time we will be opening up one of the classic vistas for which the Commons were well known. To accomplish this we will be removing the trees and scrub between the two paths that start at the top of Edgcumbe Rd, one leading to Wellington Rocks and the other leading to the Victoria Grove. This will open the view from the plateau between the rocks and the avenue across the Lower Cricket Ground and on towards the old TrinityChurch. It is rare that we can re-open any of the old views across the town because these days they would be dominated by the traffic on the A26 and the A264. At this location however, the viewing position is far enough back from these roads and the only traffic intrusion would be from Castle Rd and Edgcumbe Rd. We are currently trying very hard to get double yellow lines at the top of Castle Rd to halt the terrible erosion being caused by traffic squeezing past parked cars in this area. If we can persuade Highways to do this, it will also remove most of the parked cars from the new vista.
This clearance will be quite near the major clearance we carried out last year between Castle Rd and the station. That clearance has been quite popular and we have received many positive comments as it has greened up. I am pleased to say that this clearance has recently received an award from the Civic Society, which was a lovely surprise.
Steve Budden- Commons Warden
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