It seems a long way away, but the parish council has already been looking at the specification for its grounds contract for 2025/26.
The parish council reviews its grounds contract each year – this allows flexibility and enables it to respond to issues over time. Both the Estate’s committee and the parish council looked at a draft specification at their meetings in July.
In July, the Estates Committee considered the following adjustments to the contract for the parish council to consider including in the next specification:
- Allow for reduction of cuts on Tennis Court Banks to make provision for the protection of bee orchids in the banks (reduction to 8 cuts per year);
- Reduce cuts of Inner and Outer Banks to once a year – developing these as wildlife areas
- Consider either
- No Mow May1 in specified areas (Smaller greens where visibility not an issue, churchyard and part cemetery)
- Dedicating specific areas of greens, churchyard and cemetery to wildlife, with appropriate signage, and reducing cut in these areas to once per year following seed setting (there would be an initial cost in durable notices)
- Increase cuts at MSC to 18 per year (consistent with Recreation Ground, Six Acres and other areas)
- Reduce cuts of footpaths to 4 per yearReduce brush cut of concrete pad at Six Acres to 1 per year.
Following a poster consultation at the Wickhambrook Fete and Flower Show on 13th July, the parish council also considered at its meeting:
- Provision of a a fenced off wildlife area for bees etc at Six Acres
Specific opportunities to promote wildlife areas could possibly be developed by:
- Cutting a meter border around Nunnery Green (bank), leaving the remainder for wild flowers with a late cut in autumn
- Dedicating the southside of the old cemetery for wildlife (this is a low traffic area, a path may need to be cut to any maintained graves)
- Dedicating the rear of the Churchyard at All Saints to wildlife (with the approval of the PCC)
- Extending the wildlife area at Attleton Green forward to the ash tree and pond
- Allowing the banks down into the culvert at Coltsfoot Close to grow, with one cut before the autumn storms.
Making provision for more wildlife also helps the parish council work towards the Community Actions identified as part of the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan. We would like to hear your thoughts on the proposals and would be grateful if you could take a moment to respond to this survey. All the responses will be collated and considered by the parish council when it finally approves a specification for the grounds contract at its September meeting.