You might recall our post in November about plans for work by South Cambs District Council at the Green on removing some of the silt in order to establish a clear channel through the Brook that should be able to cope with the flows from winter rain.  The silt was to be deposited at the side of the Brook where previously removed material has shrunk behind the retaining walls.   In the event the planned date was not possible, and this work will now take place week commencing 9 January 2017 once the Christmas lights are down.  The work will not start until after 9.30am and should take a couple of hours
Because heavy machinery will have to be used some damage may occur to the grass – this will be repaired in due course by the Parish Council but it may be wise to plan to keep off the grass and mud where possible in the meantime!  The work will be planned to co-incide with a frosty morning to minimise the risk of damage

There’s further, much more extensive, works being planned by the Parish Council during 2017 both to improve the area further environmentally, and also make some of this maintenance easier in the long term. We’d welcome input from anybody who could add expert skills to the group planning this work

We all know and love it as the “Duck Pond” – but some may not know that it’s not a pond, should properly be called “The Brook” and that it fulfills a vital role in helping to drain the village and therefore keep us clear of flooding.

Water from the south (including beyond the A14), east and north flows into the Brook and then out westwards towards Oakington along Park Lane.  This drainage network – the “awarded watercourses” – are the responsibility of South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC). SCDC have a regular maintenance plan in place to ensure that water can freely drain through the network.

As part of that regular maintenance they’ll be removing some of the silt in order to establish a clear channel through the Brook that should be able to cope with the flows from winter rain.  The silt will be deposited at the side of the Brook where previously removed material has shrunk behind the retaining walls. In order to make a difference to flooding risk, these works will need to be carried out prior to January, are planned for Wednesday 30^th November, and should take less than a day.

Because heavy machinery will have to be used some damage may occur to the grass – this will be repaired in due course by the Parish Council but it may be wise to plan to keep off the grass and mud where possible in the meantime!

There’s further, much more extensive, works being planned by the Parish Council during 2017 both to improve the area further environmentally, and also make some of this maintenance easier in the long term. We’d welcome input from anybody who could add expert skills to the group planning this work.