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Good afternoon everyone,

The highlight of this week for me has been a site visit to the Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve yesterday. Peto's Marsh, which is the triangle of land surrounded on two sides by the River Waveney near Oulton Broad, has been truly transformed from poor arable land that regularly flooded. In the period since the Suffolk Wildlife Trust acquired it, the site has been remodelled by BAM Nuttall with an array of bulldozers, dumper trucks and diggers. The result is a fantastic wetland habitat which is already attracting a vast array of birds and other wildlife.

I walked down to the river with Julian Roughton, the Trust’s Chief Executive and Matt Gooch, SWT Sites Warden. On the way we passed one of the Authority’s long reach excavators which will start preparing the silt disposal site at the tip of the triangle to receive wet dredgings from Oulton Broad.

For the Authority the site is critical in our role in maintaining the navigation because it will provide a long-term solution for the disposal of the material we have to regularly dredge from Oulton Dyke, the entrance to Oulton Broad. When the River Waveney hits the still water at the broad’s entrance it drops its sediment load to form a bar which if we didn’t remove it would impede vessels entering or leaving the Broad. Our problem as ever has been finding a disposal site and we now have one for the long term.

We walked on to visit the site for the pontoon the Authority has recently committed to install this year. The Trust have an ambition to erect a visitor platform at that point so that our boating visitors will get a panoramic view.

We then walked back to the site of the new Visitor Centre which is looking fantastic. Barnes, the contractors are currently doing the first fix. The Centre is due to be open to the public this summer and for one I am looking forward to a drink, a piece of cake and great views over the marshes.
Please see this month's Broads Briefing below:
January 2020
Mapping the Broads Exhibition

On a very wet Monday evening (27 January) I walked up to the Norwich University of the Arts East Gallery opposite St Andrews for the opening of a new exhibition supported through our Water, Mills and Marshes programme.

It showcases the work of three outstanding illustrators, all lecturers at Norwich University of the Arts, as well as a book of illustrations by local school children. I am hoping that this will be the start of a long partnership with NUA.

The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Saturdays from 12 to 5 pm until Saturday 21 March and it is well worth the visit.

east gallery exhibition
Exhibition at the East Gallery © NUA
Mooring works

It’s been a busy month for our Construction, Maintenance and Environment teams. Works on 16 brand-new, 24-hour mooring spaces are currently underway at Acle Bridge and we look forward to them opening in time for Easter. Works to construct new moorings on the River Wensum are currently taking place near Norwich City Football ground, and improvement works will soon commence at Hardley Cross, How Hill, St Benet’s, Dilham and Commissioners Cut.

petos marsh
The location of the new moorings at Peto's Marsh on the River Waveney
Boardwalk opens

Since November, our Operations Technicians, apprentices and volunteers have been working on site to replace over 70m of public boardwalk, which connects the riverside park to our large mooring at Hoveton Viaduct.

Installed in the early 2000s, the original boardwalk had reached the end of its serviceable life and was not repairable. Despite an exceedingly wet January, I’m delighted that the work is now complete and the boardwalk is open to the public. I’d like to thank all involved, including our volunteers who have made a massive contribution.

Dredging update

Throughout January, dredging within Heigham Sound has continued, with the sediment taken by wherry and pumped into Chara Bay on Hickling Broad. Approximately 4000m3 has been pumped into the lagoon so far. We hope that dredging will continue through to March (depending on the water temperature).

The Authority’s mudpump is now at Catfield Dyke removing sediment. Approximately 2000m3 is expected to be pumped from here into Chara Bay. Please remember that Catfield Dyke will be closed to navigation whilst the mudpump is in operation - see our Notice to Mariners for more information.

Dredging of the downstream section of Waxham Cut has been completed with approximately 3000m3 removed from the channel and placed on the adjacent folding, along with a proportion of reed that was growing out into the channel.

dredging waxham
Waxham Cut after dredging
Broads Test and Trial

As the UK exits from Europe, our agricultural support and land management systems are all under review. Coupled with the challenges of climate change, soil protection and biodiversity loss, there is much to consider. We are currently running a series of workshops and one-to-one discussions with partners, a steering group of farmers and land managers, which culminates in a report to Defra in June. Known as ‘Test and Trial’ of the Environment Land Management System, we are focusing on the future support systems to gain public benefits for marshes, fens and reedbeds. 

In this work we are:

  • Confirming what land looks like when it is delivering benefits for the public such as nature, capturing greenhouse gases and storing flood water.
  • Investigating what management interventions are required to achieve these public goods.
  • Listening to farmers and land managers and reporting on their ideas about working together on landscape scale projects as well as coordinating advice provision in the Broads.

For further information see: workshop one notes

New wetland habitat

Recently, How Hill Nature Reserve received a visit from an impressive amphibious 'Truxor' machine, which can move across land and water, and is able to reach inaccessible areas that other machinery would struggle with. The Truxor has been creating new wetland habitats of reedbeds and open ditches, which will encourage aquatic wildlife and create the ideal home for rare birds, such as bitterns. This work was funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development – Water Environment Grant.

truxor at reedham water
Truxor in action at Reedham Water
Apprenticeship week and open day

If you have been following our social media you may be aware that this is National Apprenticeship Week, a chance to celebrate the great work of our dedicated team of apprentices.

We are incredibly proud of our apprentices and are delighted that this year we have a record six apprentices in post. Many thanks to Becky, Emily and Eloise (who are our level two Environmental  Conservation apprentices), Alex (our Ranger apprentice), and Tom and Brandon in the Water, Mills and Marshes team for all of their enthusiasm and hard work. The scheme is a joint effort with Suffolk New College and City College Norwich, and it certainly wouldn't be possible without our partners in those organisations.

To mark the week and provide an insight into environmental apprenticeships for interested young people, we are holding an open day on 19 February at Whitlingham Country Park. It will be a great opportunity to meet some of our current apprentices, find out more about their work and have a go at some practical conservation work.

If you know any young people who might be interested please encourage them to register here on our Eventbrite.

Windy and stormy weather

Finally, it certainly looks like we are in for some rough weather over the next few days, including wind gusts over 60mph and some heavy rain. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning that will affect the Broads.

If you are in the area over the coming days or have a vessel here, please try to keep safe and remember to follow our usual guidance on choosing mooring spots and properly securing your boat.

Our Rangers will be around to help with any issues on the water and there is more advice available on the boating news section of our website.

As always please remember you can contact me directly if you have any questions.  If you know of anyone else who would like to receive my briefings please pass on this link

Best wishes, 

John Packman
Chief Executive






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