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A long standing plan to remove some of the silt from the Brook is about to go ahead. The last time this was done was in 2011. This will also provide an opportunity to develop some more bankside vegetation on the north side of The Brook, similar to the beds that were introduced on the south side in 2004. These three new beds will take the silt that will be dredged out, so it won’t have to be taken away and disposed of. They will also provide a more natural edge to The Brook and help to absorb water at times of high rain fall.
As the depth of The Brook will be increased the total volume of water it holds will be unchanged.
The work is currently scheduled to start on Monday 8th March by South Cambs DC’s Drainage Team using materials funded by the Parish Council. It’s hoped that the work will be completed within that week, weather permitting.
At this time of year we can expect to see young ducklings hatch & run around. Timing of this work appears to ignore nature. Or perhaps there is a cunning plan which would be unpopular if advised?
We have been trying to organise this work since early January but the wet weather has meant that the teams have had to prioritise work elsewhere. It is something that needs doing before we get too much more wet weather, and we are hopeful that there will not be too many ducklings around as yet, hence why the work has to happen now. It should also mean that that the ducks have a little more water if there is a dry spell later in the year.
Will this work also involve removing all the debris in the brook the other side of the green in the section next to the old chapel building?
Clearing all of the award drains of debris, fallen trees etc is part of the annual maintenance done by South Cambs District Council that we know has been delayed this year whilst their team works on high priority risks. We expect that to be sorted soon.
Hello!
My son is very interested in this – he is particularly interested in the fish that are in the brook and we’ve talked about how desilting the brook could help the fish population. Is there anyone who might now about the fish population in the brook, any information about what is in there (we have seen pike and have heard there are roach, perch and eels too)? Any advice or information would be much appreciated to help encourage his curiosity. Thanks, Matt
Hi Matt, I cannot find any documented history of what is in the Brook I am afraid. There is information about its history but not the nature side of things. Perhaps this is something we can create over time. Your son might like to know that carts used to drive through the Brook to shrink the metal bands onto their wheels after they had been newly put on by a blacksmith. This was before the edging was done that you can currently see.