Gritting Update – Fri 20 Jan
Well, the hill has been gritted – by hand. An Above and Beyond Award to Matt, Colin Dave H and new resident David H. The gritter was playing up so these four volunteered to grit the hill by hand. It took the four of them 2 hours to do all bar the flat bit from the bus shelter to Pooks Lane. Dave H reported racking up 10k steps! This really was an exceptional act for the safety of all of us and to say we are grateful is an understatement. If you see them in the Bridford……..!Anne Mayes
Gritting Update – Thurs19 Jan
Another icy night and Andy B and Liam have just been out to grit the hill. Again though, take care, there’s still a bit of run off in places. We’re very grateful to them, particularly Andy on his fourth night gritting. No Secondary Routes will be done tomorrow. Anne Mayes
Gritting Update – Wed 18 Jan
Another icy night and Andy B and Dave H have just been out to grit the hill. Unfortunately there’s a fair bit of runoff at various points on the hill still and Andy and Dave point out that by the time they came back it was icy again by the phone box. In their view the drive to work tomorrow could well be worse than today’s and that was bad. It looks as if the accident on the hill was shown on Spotlight so today was certainly not good. I hope those involved are alright. Despite this, no Secondary Routes will be done tomorrow. Anne Mayes
Gritting Update – Tues 17 Jan
Another icy night and a team of three have just been out to grit the hill. Unfortunately there’s a fair bit of runoff at various points on the hill which will probably freeze as they did today so care will still be needed. No Secondary Routes will be done tomorrow.
Our thanks go to Andy H, Andy B and a new member, Dave H for going out for us tonight. Anne Mayes
Gritting Update – Mon 16 Jan
I expect you’ve seen the warnings of ice for tonight and until 10 am tomorrow. Indeed this has warranted the promise of a rare gritting of the Secondary Routes tomorrow, but not until at least 8am so our thanks go to Andy H and Andy B for going out tonight to grit the hill. Anne Mayes
BRIDFORD PARISH COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA 9TH JANUARY 2023
Bridford Wildlife Warden Update
In our last post we asked for your views on our “Ecological Management Plan” for Bridford’s grass verges which was adopted by Bridford Parish Council in January 2022 and is up for review in January 2023.
Well many of you did respond and we received 11 responses, 10 by email and one Facebook comment. We were delighted that positive responses outnumbered negative ones by 10:1. It is very encouraging to know that there are many people in the village who are aware of the difficulties facing wildlife and who recognise the need to take action now to help even in small ways to redress this.
However we are also aware that although we only received one negative response, there will be others who also struggle to see the benefit of such a scheme in the countryside where we are surrounded by farmland and where we have some fantastic natural resources such as the Woodland Park and Rowden Valley Wood, and wonder what the point of it all is.
To them we would say that the biodiversity crisis that we currently face is not restricted to more built up areas and is being felt throughout the countryside also, due to a combination of factors including the intensification of agriculture. Historically, farming would have allowed for hay meadows which are a nectar rich source for insect pollinators and food source for birds and small mammals, but since the 1930s 97% of these have gone and for this reason the margins of land and what we do with them is important. Here in Bridford people who have lived here a long time have told us of a depletion in species such as hares, yellowhammers and house martins. Though this will be due to numerous causes, one of these is the lack of traditionally managed meadows.
Though the Bridford verges may seem like a small area, they can support a huge number of pollinating insects and will be part of a much larger patchwork of wildlife friendly areas. Many species struggle to travel far, so wildlife corridors are vital in fighting species depletion. We envisage the verges working with the Woodland park, wildlife friendly farms and gardens, creating corridors throughout the area.
So, thank you again to everyone who responded, and to Bridford Parish Council for their ongoing support. We would also also like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas as we look forward to 2023 and continuing to work with you all for the benefit of wildlife in Bridford. Contact us: [email protected].
Our Christmas picture is an original drawing by wildlife warden Lucy Smerdon.
Gritting Update – Fri 16 Dec
No one from The Team is going out tonight – Highways gritted the hill this morning. Anne Mayes
Gritting Update – Thurs 15 Dec
Tonight we have Joe and a mystery helper to thank for going out and gritting the whole route. The volunteers have already gone out more this month than they did in the whole winter last year . Hopefully Christmas will be mild. Anne Mayes