Conservation concerns -Paddocks and Compton Rough - UPDATE 2

I am now able to provide more information regarding the works that has recently been undertaken in the mid-section of the reserve.

It is part of a massive schedule of proposed works that is contained in the Conservation and Access Management Plan.

This is a 5 year plan and it was produced by our friends at The Wildlife Trust, with a hefty contribution from the birding angle, thanks to the efforts of Kevin Clements and the West Midlands Bird Club (WMBC).

I have now had chance to digest this plan, and quite frankly I am excited by it's aims!!

In it's Vision Statement it says:

" The wildlife of Smestow Valley is what makes it special; it's long-standing biodiversity will be conserved and steps will be taken to actively enhance it's ecological value"

This plan came after a lengthy consultation plan, with 300 written representations being considered.

Proposed work is basically under two headings: access and infrastructure, and habitat and species. The work in the Paddocks and at Compton Rough falls under the second heading of work.

Firstly, at the Paddocks: the plan proposes that the area be divided into 3 strips of equal width along the length of the paddock.The first strip, running immediately alongside the old railway line, is to be left for 5 years to develop into native scrub. The middle strip will receive an annual late Summer cut. The final strip adjacent to the existing path will be cut twice a year.

This work will create a "Woodland Edge" and WMBC recommended:
Much of the Paddock is of limited value to birds and should be managed as a "Woodland Edge", including planting of appropriate native shrub species and management of the vegetation.

A similar "Woodland Edge" management approach is planned for the bank by Compton Lock .In this case a 5 metre strip adjacent to the Railway Walk, will be allowed to develop into native scrub, with the remainder, being encouraged to hay meadow with seed dispersal and annual late Summer cutting. A hedgerow that appears on historical maps of the area will also be re-instated so as to cut the meadow in half and recreate the two fields that existed in the past!!

With such a large open space available to exercise dogs on Compton Park, at Newbridge Playing Field and at other sites, I am going to be asking for signage to be displayed, asking for dogs to be on lead,whilst passing through The Paddocks and the proposed Compton Lock Meadows.It would be impossible to create an undisturbed and safe haven for woodland-edge species, without this level of co-operation and understanding. The loss of nesting Reed-Bunting and Yellowhammer in the last few years on the Barleyfield is clear evidence that the aims of this new Management Plan could not be met without some element of protection, being afforded.

The rest of the plan is equally positive, with a wide array of improvements that places biodiversity at it's core (like a pond creation and conversion of the under-used Aldersley Playing Fields into hay-meadows, in the North, plus an application to English Nature to extend the total area falling within the LNR).

Again Deborah Davies at Leisure Services, Wolverhampton City Council has been exceptionally helpful, and I now feel that after a rather mixed and at times torrid history, everyone is starting to pull in the same direction.I really want to nurture this.

The Management plan is massive. It is my intention now to obtain monthly updates of imminent proposed works and it's aims, so that I can publish it on our blog, before work commences to give everyone a deeper understanding. If this undertaking gets too hefty then I shall-be creating a "Sister" blog that deals solely with the management plan, so that this blog can concentrate on the enjoyment of the valley, rather than all the red-tape, especially, since Spring migration will soon be underway!!! (Yippee!!!)

Please, please bare with me. I am on a very steep learning curve, having only sent this blog live on 1st January 2013, and then only been in a position to get involved with the conservation side on 1st February. Things have took off at a rather fast rate. I mean to harm no one, and I have a passion for this valley and it's wildlife, so my intentions shall be focussed on that and that alone.

I do ask that all posts made on this blog remain in a co-operative and helpful spirit, and as I have stated before, anyone with deep-rooted concerns and red-mist should use the smestow sightings e-mail address so that views can be taken into account and considered before publication. This is especially important as our profile continues to rise.

In my experience, all good things come when everyone is pulling in the same direction, and with regards to this Management Plan, the involvement of WMBC and The Wildlife Trust, together with a caring City Council, commands that respect.

As regards the short-term disturbance, which will arise from the Access and Infrastructure schedule of works, please view this as "no pain-no gain", because only by demonstrating that the Management Plan benefits ALL users of the Valley, can it receive the funding and so achieve its conservation objectives.

THANK YOU