Inert have been tinkering with Manor lake infill. 18th April 2023

My other half and I walked along the Blackwater valley footpath on Sunday 16th April. I looked across at the banking between Manor lake and East fen, and thought that there was a darker patch of land that shouldn't be there. Have Inert been back on site?

The same is true of last Tuesday during my normal mid week stomp. There were signs that Inert have returned to Manor lake, albeit low key.

My suspicions were confirmed on today's mid-week stomp. A MGLG member, who I bump into quite often on my stomp, confirmed that Inert were working on the infill. He saw them yesterday.

Further confirmation was gleaned from the steel plates put across the footpath at the north end of the Bailey bridge. Not only had they moved, but they were now heavily encrusted in mud.

The MGLG member also said that MGLG had no objections to Inert continuing the restoration of Manor Lake at this moment in time - hooray, someone at MGLG has their head screwed on properly! Sensitive species - like Little Ringed Plover - would nest further west of the infill i.e. on the Manor Lake extension. Other species would either not nest on the banking or will not be bothered by the heavy plant trundling to and fro.

This is great news as, although Inert do not appear to be working full blast on the infill, at least they are able to keep restoration ticking along. I will attempt an on site stomp to photograph what Inert have accomplished over the past few weeks.