This summer has been exceptional for local events and hopefully many of the Friends of Jesmond Dene will have sampled a selection. The Tall Ships, estimated as generating around £50m for the local economy, with 1.5 million people visiting the Tyne over the four days, was the largest and most successful event the North East has ever staged. This newsletter gives first-hand accounts of some smaller scale events in and around Jesmond Dene, ranging from Shakespeare’s plays to Jezfest. It is also good to hear of events organised by both the Friends of Paddy Freeman’s and the Friends of Heaton and Armstrong Parks’ for their local communities.
Many thanks to all those volunteers who have generously given up their Sunday afternoons to man the Local History Room this summer. Unfortunately, due to current short staffing at Millfield House, there have been times in July and August when the rangers have been unable to open the room. Hopefully this problem will be resolved before next summer.
Finally, the rangers would like all sightings of squirrels (red or grey), in or near the Dene, to be reported to them. They have also noted an increase in foxes this year and a disappearance of rabbits from their usual haunts in the Dene.
Jesmond Dene House Hotel is on schedule to open in September and is billed as “the city’s most luxurious address for business and pleasure”, “one of the finest in the region”, “a tranquil place to unwind, eat and sleep”. Everything here works well, everything looks good, everything is designed to comfort and soothe.”* The hotel offers 41 en-suite bedrooms, a large dining area specialising in fresh, seasonal regional produce, together with high-tech facilities for business meetings and seminars. Wedding and banqueting facilities are also on offer. Furnishings and fittings have been designed to fit with the overall style; the house’s oak panelling, friezes, tiling and patterned floors have been complemented by 21st Century extras that fit sympathetically with the arts and crafts design of the existing building. In addition, the top floor is a self-contained luxury flat. The massive refurbishment and conversion of the original John Dobson 1822 building is estimated to have cost £7m. See the hotel’s website for more information: www.jesmonddenehouse.co.uk
*The Journal, Enterprise North East, August 5, 2005
This report tells of the stage we are at now with the Old Mill project and the work done to get us here. Briefly, the project aims are:
- Improve the access path and the visitor viewing area
- Clean up the site (weeding and graffiti removal)
- Archaeological investigation under professional supervision
- Researching and providing public access to widen knowledge about the Mill (its history and working processes).
The Volunteers submitted the grant application and the associated listed building (planning) consent application at the end of May 2005 - we are now in the middle of the long waiting period whilst the Lottery organisation and English Heritage process them. So why has it taken so long and what was needed ?
• We needed to apply for Listed Building Consent to get permission to carry out work on the Old Mill. As a Grade II listed building this comes in two stages. First, Newcastle City Planning Dept had to approve our proposals against local planning requirements. They gave this approval on 21st July and then forwarded the application to English Heritage for stage two. English Heritage must now check that our plans meet their specific requirements for working on listed buildings, which will take up to 8 weeks (or a little less if we are lucky).
• The Grant Application, separate from the Planning Consent, was submitted to the Lottery organisation to get their financial support to carry out our project at the Mill. The Lottery organisation has to be happy that we have a worthwhile project, that it falls within their criteria for project funding, and that we have a robust project plan, properly costed and with the local community organisation (in this case the Friends Volunteer Ranger Group) ready to carry out the work.
These applications had to be supported by detailed project plans; accurate scale drawings of the mill; estimates for materials, tools and for those pieces of work which need to be contracted out; over a hundred photographs - and lots of additional ‘form filling’. It has been a considerable effort, done completely in ‘spare time’ by the volunteer organisation.
We have had confirmation that the grant application will get formal consideration on 1st September and we'll get the 'result' later in September. Hopefully it will prove successful, the practical project work can begin and it will all have been worthwhile !
The City Council’s Parks & Countryside Service are still pursuing a Heritage Lottery Bid for the Ouseburn Parks Project. The process has taken longer than expected due to the size of the area covered by the project and the amount of money required from the Council in order to apply for a grant. The City will have to guarantee 25% of the funds required and this amount is £1.6 million. Officers are in the process of identifying areas of income that can be used to offset this cost.
Officers plan to present a report outlining the proposal, together with the funding required, to the Council’s Executive group in September for ratification. Then the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund will be submitted with a decision expected in March 2006.
The good news is that the city now has four parks with Green Flag status – Gosforth Central Park (3 years), Benwell Nature Park (3 years), Leazes Park (2 years) and Nuns Moor Park – this year for the first time! The bad news is that neither of the Ouseburn Parks entered - Heaton and Paddy Freeman’s – have been successful thus far; however, the judges were pleased with improvements made to Paddy’s and we are hopeful of winning a Green Flag next year. With Heaton Park, it is a bit more difficult as many of the comments made by the judges – this year and last – concern themselves with problems of infrastructure – walls, steps, the terrace at the pavilion and the former ladies’ pavilion and vandalised green. These are all very costly and will be addressed in the lottery bid – if and when we are successful with that. It will be left up to the Friends of Heaton Park and officers to decide if there will be an application to the Green Flag Award Scheme next year.
Our fantastic new building will be ready to move into at the end of September. When fully operational, the building will contain classrooms, training rooms, meeting space and a visitor centre. We are ready to begin training with our partners North East Employment Agency who are recruiting for courses. Our Education Service will move into its purpose built classroom which will vastly improve the facilities for visiting groups. Several community groups already working with Ouseburn Farm will use the centre’s facilities for meetings and events.
Currently there is little opportunity for young people to train for a career in environmental conservation or land based skills without having to travel but now, through an exciting collaboration between Ouseburn Farm and the North East Employment and Training Agency Ltd (NEETA), young people will be able to train as Modern Apprentices in countryside careers here in the Ouseburn Valley. Young people can apply for a place on the programme through their Connexions advisor. The training is full time and should lead to paid employment. NEETA was incorporated in 1988 and is approved by the Adult Learning Inspectorate as a 'good quality' training provider. The Farm, together with NEETA, will be offering NVQ qualifications in Land Based Operations and Environmental Conservation from autumn 2005, covering a range of countryside management skills. If you are interested please contact your Connexions advisor or ring Ouseburn Farm on 0191 275 5605.
The last few months has seen some staff changes. Seamus Tollitt, the Ranger, has taken on a one year secondment as the Walker Park Development Officer, which started in May. Over the last three months I have moved up from Assistant Ranger to Ranger. I am being assisted by Sarah Capes our Weekend Ranger, who has been working three extra days each week.
This summer has seen the return of Heartbreak Productions, with two performances; Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet. The weather, although not as good as we might have hoped, has been a definite improvement on last year.
After a lot of hard work over the last couple of years, our new History Trail is now completed. The new full colour trail is 20 pages long, it contains many pictures of the Dene, both present day and from the past, it is on sale at a price of £1 from the rangers. Many thanks to all those who helped make the finished trail what it is.
The volunteers have been continuing to work hard. We’ve done a lot of work clearing paths this year, as well as pulling up patches of Himalayan Balsam among other things. Probably the biggest achievement is the completion of the application for a grant, which will allow us to carry out some improvements to the old mill. We expect to hear in September if the application has been successful.
This summer we have installed a new bird food dispenser in Pets’ Corner. The idea behind this is to make food for people to feed the animals with, available more of the time. The machine is on the Aviary; it takes ten pence pieces only.
The Transport and Works Act (TWA) Order application by Newcastle City Council to the Department of Transport is still under consideration. The application resulted in a number of objections on a range of issues, including the Environment Agency, English Nature, Northumbrian Water, the Royal Yachting Association, the Ramblers Association and Northumberland Wildlife Trust. The Council has been working with these organisations over the last six months to resolve their concerns and to provide additional information. Significant progress has been made and four objections have now been withdrawn. The Council is optimistic that agreement can be reached with the outstanding objections by the end of September, when the Department for Transport will decide whether or not to call a public inquiry, depending on the nature of any outstanding objections. One million pounds of funding through Government Office North East has been allocated to the scheme. This time-limited funding may be lost if there are any further delays to the TWA application.
Planning for Urban-rural River Environments (PURE) is about managing water and improving the Ouseburn’s environment in terms of reducing flood risk, improving water quality together with creating greater recreational and educational opportunities.
Newcastle City Council, in partnership with the Environment Agency, Northumbrian Water and Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, want to find out how everyone living in the Ouseburn’s catchment area can help us to manage water better. It is important that we look at the whole catchment because what happens in one area can impact on other stretches of the river. We are particularly interested in four areas:
• The countryside – around Callerton and Woolsington.
• The land next to urban areas – Newcastle Great Park and the airport
• Open spaces and Ouseburn parks – Gosforth Park, Town Moor and Jesmond Dene
• The regeneration area– The Lower Ouseburn Valley - between Byker Bridge and the Quayside.
These are some of the questions we will be looking at:
• How can we design new developments to reduce their effect on water?
• How can we improve the landscapes and make our rivers and riverbanks more wildlife-friendly?
• Can we find ways to reduce the risk of flooding and reduce pollution?
• Can we provide more opportunities for adults and children to learn about the river?
• Can we improve recreation and access to the river?
We want to know what you think!
Are there any other issues we should be thinking about? What do you like and dislike about the Ouseburn? Do you visit the Ouseburn?
The volunteers have put in a total of 632 hours so far this year. Activities have been of the usual variety. A lot of time has been spent clearing paths, removing overhanging branches and clearing the large amounts of soil that build up along the edges. The pond near Fisherman’s Lodge has been cleaned out again, a very messy job, but well worth the effort once it’s finished. We’ve also spent time removing Graffiti. A number of hours have been put into pulling out Himalayan Balsam - one of those invasive species mentioned in the Alien Invaders report. Our efforts over the last few years have certainly reduced the impact this plant is having on the Dene. More recently we’ve been trying to improve the drainage in the quarry (Blackberry Crag) and also on the path from Castles Farm Bridge up to Freeman Road. We’re now waiting to see if our actions have had any effect before doing anymore.
In September it is planned that the volunteers, with the Rangers and Park Keepers, will clean up the river. The aim is to start at Castles Farm Bridge and work downstream. This is however weather dependent - if it rains a lot it will be too dangerous to get into the river!
This August the Stables has started extensive building work to both Stepney Bank sites. The work is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and will provide additional stabling for five horses, bringing the total number of stables to 25. The work will also create a more visitor friendly environment where people can safely meet the horses and watch lessons. There will even be a café for coffee and snacks! The building work should be completed by Christmas, so watch out for the grand re-launch in spring 2006!
The Stables were also lucky enough to welcome Dan Franklin, a world renowned “horse whisperer” from Canada. Dan was at Stepney throughout August, passing his amazing skills on to the volunteers and helpers.
If you are interested in taking riding lessons or becoming a volunteer at the Stables, please get in touch with Susan, Sara or Tim on 0191 261 5544. Riding lessons start from £12, all ages and abilities catered for. The Stables are currently looking to recruit volunteers who can assist with taking bookings and telephone queries, as well as general horse care. Please get in touch if you think you could help!
In the last newsletter I explained about Japanese Knotweed and the threat it poses to the Dene. Here I will describe some of the ways we are trying to combat it and introduce you to some more alien invaders.
The most effective treatment for Knotweed, as explained in the last edition, is herbicide treatment. To treat all the Knotweed in the Dene with herbicide in one year would have a devastating impact on the native flora. The only way to do it, without damaging other flora is to spot treat individual plants. This takes time and resources and the ability to climb steep and inaccessible slopes. It would be a full time job for a small team for six months of the year for at least three years. We do not have the resources for this at the moment. However the lottery bid may provide us with this money.
What we have been doing is prioritizing areas and treating them. The rangers have also produced a map with the distribution of Knotweed throughout the Dene. The area north of Castles Farm Bridge has been treated this year, this seems to have been quite effective. The area near the culvert was treated some years ago and the problem seems to have been solved. The volunteers have done a lot of work pulling Knotweed, to try and weaken it. It is important that if it is pulled the stems are disposed of properly.
Himalayan Balsam is an interesting plant, which can be seen along many of our watercourses and along the Ouseburn. Unlike Knotweed, it does not spread by roots, it spreads from seed. It flowers in July and August with a purple bloom. Towards the end of August the seed head is developed. When mature the seeds are dispersed by an explosive mechanism in the seed head. These plants are annuals so can only regenerate from last year’s seeds. To control the spread of Himalayan Balsam the plant must be treated or pulled before the seed head has time to develop.
Giant Hogweed is another alien invader that was brought here because of its giant rhubarb type leaves and long stems. It is also found along waterways and can be seen in the Dene. It does not spread as fast as Knotweed but is a problem for a different reason. The sap from the stem can cause a nasty burn when it comes into contact with the skin, particularly when combined with strong sunshine. If you come across this plant stay away from it and let the ranger know.
In the next newsletter I will be introducing you to some of our older introduced species and explaining the importance of native species.