Anti fly tipping device added to footpath entrance. Slow progress on infill. 29th January 2023

My strategy of fortnightly on-site, weekend visits is paying off, I feel. Progress on the infill of Manor lake is slow. I'm not really sure why. 

My Saturday morning visit (8:00am)was thwarted by Inert working! Two bulldozers, one digger, and at least one heavy earth mover were clunking around. I had to turn round and go home.

Sunday morning was a little brighter, weather wise, and Inert were not working. I struggled to see what progress Inert have made since my last on-site visit.  Yes, the area around the new pump was churned up, with the possibility of a drainage ditch being dug to drain this area. It really was very boggy and soft going.

The main infill area looked a little flatter, and may have progressed a little further east on its northern edge. But overall, as I said earlier, it was hard to see any real progress.

Our old faithful pump was not chugging. Consequently, water levels were high in Manor lake, to the extent of encroaching on the north west edge of the infill. Not terribly safe for all the heavy plant - or me, come to that. I had to tread very carefully to ensure I did not sink up to my knees in mud. Follow the bulldozer tracks!

In an attempt to stop fly tipping, Cemex have installed a removable post by the footpath entrance on the Longwater road. This is a notorious place for fly tipping. Vehicles can reverse into this this area and be hidden from cars on the Longwater road. It would be a simply task to lift a car boot or open van rear doors, and hoik stuff over a low fence.  An electrical contractor was forever dumping cable material here.

Cemex initially placed a large lump of concrete across this area to thwart fly tippers. I know to my cost, as I reversed my car into it one day. They obviously decided further barriers were required.  In a way it is a shame, as this was an excellent parking space for birders and walkers.

One can only hope Inert will get on with completing restoration to enable the car park to be built at the Longwater road entrance.  Though at 20 spaces, I maintain this will be too small. Plus, the big plus, the car park should not be built until the site has its management/maintenance organisation in place.  It needs lockable gates to stop fly tippers and/or travelers or other unsavory types abusing the car park.