You will be relived, dear reader, that this is the final section of this week's update. It is also the shortest. Which is also a great relief to me. This section covers the southern section of the West embankment. Inert had not touched this part of the West embankment when I visited the site on Tuesday. By Saturday they had removed over half of it. This section is not as large as the northern West embankment, so should be totally flattened by next week. Again, I must admit a certain amount of bafflement. You would have thought that Inert would be instructed to smear the soil from this embankment along the south and west shores of Finch pond. Instead, from what I can see, Inert have had to ship this soil to the opposite, north east, side of the current restoration, and dump it onto what was Cormorant lake (north). Of course, Inert may also have been instructed to cart the soil off site, but I can't verify either supposition, as I wasn't on site to see what was going on. I'm not sure I ever did climb up this embankment. This section covers the south east part of copse and south shore of Finch pond. Inert have simply continued to shape and profile the shores and edges of both the western section of Manor lake and largest of the Finch pond complex. Virtually all of the mounds that are not to remain have been smoothed down to provide gently shelving areas of shallow water. I think the layer thus smoothed is a clay based topping layer, probably for a degree of waterproofness. The thin layer has certainly cracked terribly in the heatwaves. The south shoreline appears to have crept further towards the Blackwater river footpath, to approximately where I estimate it should be, according to the plans I have. Inert simply continue to do this delicate profiling job. This covers north of copse east to wetlands and close to pump station. Because I did not wander all the way over to the east side of current restoration work, last week, I'm not sure if some of the work I identify in this week's post was actually done last week. Circumstantial reasoning suggest the work was done this week. Inert have flitted about this area smearing more capping soil, flattening mounds of clay like soil and, dumping yet more clay like soil. There is also a possibility that Inert are starting to dig out Manor lake. The area around the north and immediate east of the copse has seen mounds of stuff flattened. I believe this to be clay like soil to provide a sort of waterproofing for wetlands. Topsoil, from the embankments, has been smeared around the wetlands, and now cover a large part of the northern area of the current restoration. What is immensely baffling is that a whole load of topsoil has been smeared on what was Cormorant lake (north). What baffles me is that this topsoil has not come from the eastern north embankment or ridge. These edifices used to be twice the height of the western north embankment, yet neither has been touched. Instead, topsoil seems to have been carted around from the embankments on the western side of the current restoration! Moving to the north east part of the current restoration, a whole load of stuff, looking suspiciously clay like, has been dumped in a wet area that used to be the north east shore of Cormorant lake (south). This area used to be mudflats, much loved by wild fowl. It now takes an awful lot of run off from the north east part of the site and the ridges. More spoils has been dumped around the edge of the new wetland, curving round to the north shore of the new elongated Manor lake, extending almost to the pump station. All this spoil has a look of clay about them, and appear to have been dumped this week, as they have not dried out in the heatwave. Had they been dumped last week, they would be dry and cracked. Moving westward from the pump station, I noticed that Inert have bulldozed a series of wide 'paths' (basically a blades width) all running parallel in a north-south manner. These 'paths' go across the width of the new, elongated Manor lake. I wonder if this is represents the first steps in Inert having to dig out the stuff they previously dumped to produce Manor lake. Each week, I've just realised, I've had to provide an update over several posts. Prior to Inert stepping up a gear, a few weeks back, these updates would be extended over several weeks or months. Inert can really motor when they are allowed to. This part covers the area from the northern embankment to the Finch pond complex. Inert continue smearing a capping layer of top soil (courtesy of the embankments) over this area, neatly sculpting the stuff around the northern half of the Finch pond complex. I get the feeling that the height of land is about the same as the Longwater road. This should help with flooding issues, but will mean the ground can get very boggy with lots of heavy rain - which we could do with right now. The piles of stuff, dotted around the edges of the curious northern part of Finch pond complex, has either been bulldozed to the correct profile or carted off. I suspect the former. I'm still perplexed by this northern part of the Finch pond complex, as its structure doesn't quite conform to the latest set of plans I got from WBC's planning department. I would be more than happy if it were a larger pond, rather than a whole lot of boggy reeds, with the odd small duck pond. Of particular note is the wide channel Inert have created. It is as straight as an arrow and beautifully crafted. Inert have got some really good plant operators. However, the thing is: presuming this channel will contain the reinstated Colebrook then it is too straight. The latest plans show it having a slight meander. These plans may, of course be out of date. Inert have profiled more of the Finch pond complex, with lots of pile of spoil and/or clay type material being flattened. This is particularly true of the north west shore of the largest of the Finch ponds, lying to the south of the causeway and channel. Having initially profiled this shore, Inert then had to dig out a whole load of stuff from Finch pond, obliterating their hard work with loads of mounds of spoil. That has now been rectified, and there is now a nice, gentle, shelving beach - or mud flats, which wildlife adore. As the government got around to announcing a drought order across most of England, I will repeat what I have said on a number of occasions over the past 6 years: why fill in the once mighty Finch pond and Cormorant lakes north and south? Plus, it has to be said, some other lakes on Manor farm part of Longwater road nature reserve. Cormorant lake (south) used to be about double its size prior to me starting this blog. Deepening the lakes could, in my naive estimation, have provided over 2 billion litres of water. If not for drinking then at least for agricultural use - like in the polytunnels of Manor farm. Though if you have 2bn litres of water, building a mini purification plant can't be that difficult in this day and age of miniaturisation. Can't blame this one on Cemex. Oh well, back to our scheduled program. Inert have really ploughed on with their restoration. They are doing in days what previously used to take them weeks or months. I really should try and find a time to do a mid week visit when the plant operators aren't having a tea break. Recently, I've seen little activity when I arrive, and think that they aren't doing much. When in reality, they are steaming ahead. Case in point is the northern West embankment. I hadn't twigged that Inert had flattened it, until I was on my return leg to my car, parked by the footpath near the Longwater road entrance. I was so surprised to see it flattened, as it wasn't on Saturday morning. Just as well I climbed up it for some shots of what was Finch pond. The northern end of the West embankment is no more. Some of it has been bulldozed onto what was Finch pond, whilst some of it, I reckon, was shipped over to near the copse or onto what was Cormorant lake (north). Work on flattening the western North embankment has slowed a bit, mainly due to Inert working on the west embankment. Even so, Inert have attacked the north embankment with zeal, nibbling away at its western edge. Piles and piles of soil, dotted around the site, confirms my suspicion that heavy earth movers are loaded up with soil from the embankments. They then distribute it to where it is needed, even if it is only a few metres from the north embankment. Strange, I would have thought it would have been easier to bulldozed the soil into place. My biggest surprise on Saturday morning, was to see that Inert have fashioned a wide channel from the near the Longwater road entrance, which heads eastward, quite straight, over half way to the copse. This channel should hold the reinstated Colebrook, taking its flow westward, under the Longwater road entrance, and thence into Fleet Hill farm. I haven't yet found where it exits Fleet Hill farm. You'll be relieved to know, dear reader, that this is the final part of this week's update. It is also the smallest. It covers an area to the east of the copse, before swinging down to the new south shore of the largest of the Finch ponds. I did not wander over to the pump station or the former east shore of Cormorant lake (south). I figured that Inert would have concentrated their efforts on the flattening of the eastern north embankment. It would be just my luck that Inert did do something major around the pump station. I have to guess, each week, what Inert have been up to. They may have tinkered slightly with the south shore of Finch pond, but if they did it was quite small. I will have to pay a mid-week site visit next week (I was too busy this past week), but I'll have to brave the approaching heat wave. Yuk. At least the temperature is not going to be much higher than 30C Following on from part 1, I descend onto the infilled and upfilled area of what was the mighty Finch pond, so large is covered almost all the western part of Manor farm, even more when it flooded. A little less dramatic than clambering on top of embankments, Inert still have smeared a deep layer of top soil over much of the area north of the Finch pond complex. They've shaped the top soil around the Finch pond complex, and along the embankment that runs through the complex. I'm still intrigued as to where the Colebrook will flow and its shape, plus I'm really fascinated with what will happen to the north half of the complex. This, my friends, is a truly significant event. Many decades ago, Cemex workers scrapped the top soil off the surface of Manor farm, and piled it high to make mighty embankments that flanked the east and northern edges of the site. Some smaller banking was created alongside the south edge of the site, paralleling the south (aka Blackwater river) footpath. I used to love climbing up these embankments and photographing the site and wildlife from their tops. A good 10' (2.4m) to 20' (4.6m) or more in height, they gave a wonderful new perspective on the area; and were particularly good for Bird In Flight photography, as birds would typically fly east-west along the length of the site. Alas, dear reader, this will be no more. Inert have begun the process of flattening these embankments, starting with the eastern north embankment. This is after a tiny foray, some weeks ago, where a small chunk was nibbled out of the eastern north embankment. As usual, Inert leave me mystified and perplexed as to their strategy for flattening the embankments. Now, as a simple engineering type, I would have thought it best to start at one end and work your way to the other end, either by working your way along length of embankment thus or by nibbling away, backwards and forwards along the long edge of the embankment thus You'll not be surprised to know that Inert have completely different strategy that, to a lay man or woman, might prove somewhat perplexing. Yes, you guessed it, they bounce around. I'm sure there is a rational explanation, but it does elude me. From what I can see, Inert appear to have started with strategy 1 - towit: begin a west end of embankment and work way eastward, marching (or digging) down length of embankment. Then, either getting bored of this approach or perhaps having two diggers (who could have started from the east end of the embankment) Inert decide to construct a vehicle track up the middle (lengthways) of the embankment, and then dig out a rather large hole in the top of the embankment. Said hole isn't on the south side of the embankment, where all the action is, but is on the middle to north side, making it difficult for a digger to fill up any lorry which might be waiting on the flat, firm, solid, safe south side. Instead, I suspect, lorries would have to drive up the vehicle track, onto the top of the embankment to receive a load of soil, with the digger driver having to pirouette through 180 degrees to fill up said lorries. I'm sure it makes sense to someone, somewhere. Anyway, the soil from the north embankment is carried by lorry to various points of what was the mighty Finch pond, then dumped for the bulldozer driver to do his bit and smear the stuff over the site; returning it to where it came from, sort of. I am quite surprised at the depth of soil achieved by the contents of the north embankment. It appears to be some 30cm-40cm (12"-16") deep. And that's just a small part of the north embankment. Inert still have the west embankments, the mighty western north embankment, and the east embankments to flatten. That's an awful lot of top soil still to be moved, and the amount of land they need to cover is less that the area of land they originally scraped - as they have ponds and lakes now. Regardless, what we have here, dear reader, is the possibility that the site will be restored by next year. There are a few fiddly bits left to do, most of which could happen in parallel with the flattening of the embankments and landscaping of the wetlands, plus putting in sluice gates e.g. putting in new fencing, completing the bridle paths, constructing the pathetically small car park, etc. Exciting times. The first part of the slide show covers the eastern north embankment |
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November 2025
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