Saffron Green meadows and wood
The Master Plan for the County Council's Rural Estate, 1998-2050, divided the Estate into commercial and environmental sectors. The latter were to benefit from the production and implementation of environmental management plans and the project to develop these became known as the Rural Estate Environmental Management Action Plan (or REEMAP for short).
It was acknowledged that where tenants were in situ, implementation would be a potentially complex process. However, there was, in the south of the county, an untenanted area of traditional pasture and hay meadows. Lying just north of Arkley and Barnet it was clear that the area met 50% of the Master Plan's policy objectives.
Its primary value lay in the fact that, as rough grazing pasture, it was a rich ecological habitat. Such habitats are now extremely scarce. At the same time it had recreational potential as a closing link in a bridle circuit coming out of Arkley and as a new route within the Watling Chase Greenways project area.
The land is formed on London Clay. For much of the year it is extremely wet and difficult to access. These factors, combined with the paucity of graziers in Hertfordshire had led to its remaining ungrazed and unmown for hay for several years, resulting in rank grassland that would soon begin to regenerate to scrub.
The potential of the site for piloting the new environmental management plans was therefore clear and a project group was tasked with developing a process that may later be applied across the wider Rural Estate.
Through an ongoing process of discussions and liaisons it was recognised that issues relating to archaeology, ecology, recreation, afforestation, land management and agriculture would all need to be addressed - within the 30ha area.
First steps were to instigate archaeological and ecological surveys. The former, whilst not picking up any artefacts, did identify the landscape pattern as one with pre-Roman origins, possibly originating in the Bronze Age. The latter graded the fields ecologically and included some surrounding ones owned by an adjoining estate. The results indicated that a land swap, of certain fields, might be mutually beneficial. Surprisingly, perhaps, all parties agreed and this was later arranged.
The surveys further aided the selection of a site for the planting of a new woodland, including species selection, with the outcome that some 4.5ha was planted during the winter of 2002-03.
Meanwhile, the opportunities for improved recreational access and future agricultural/ecological management were being investigated. The obvious recreational improvement [over and above the fact that the site had not been previously open to the public, other than by one public footpath] was to create a new bridleway and an area of open access. The logic behind the bridleway was that it would create a link between an existing green lane [Arkley Lane] and the road known as Galley Lane which, despite being busy at times, has verges and a pavement up to the gates of the site. Both lead directly out from the nearest local community, Arkley, where another bridleway links them.
The proposal was that the new track should be suitably surfaced in order to facilitate future site management, whether for the extraction of small amounts of timber or for the movement of grazing animals onto and across the site. This was subsequently achieved, after planning approval had been gained, using crushed concrete and paying close attention to new drainage arrangements including ponds and scrapes.
The final element to put into place was to find a tenant capable of grazing and/or mowing for hay - the premier methods of grassland management. This part of the process took some considerable time and given the lack of such people, today, in this area of the country, all acknowledge that to have engaged one is a considerable achievement.
The overall site [42ha] is divided into two areas; the access land including the new woodland [5.5ha] and the grazing/hay meadows to which access is restricted.
As with all successful projects there was an element of serendipity. In this case it was the Highways Agency creating a bridle link between the end of Arkley Lane and the only bridle bridge crossing of the A1 in this area. A tremendous bonus for all non-motorised users, allowing them to cut out a tricky bit of road should they wish.
The project found funding and support from a number of sources and partners including the Countryside Agency, Forestry Commission, the Watling Chase Project Group, the Countryside Management Service and Hertfordshire County Council. It is currently receiving grant aid through both the Countryside Stewardship and Woodland Grant Schemes.
At the time of writing, three elements remain to complete the first phase; dedication of the new track as a right of way, installation of interpretation panels [shown below] and the official opening, planned for mid-September. Beyond this is the need to install of a field water supply system, a relatively large task planned for 2004/5. Future management will continue to be handled by the County Council's Rural Estate Group .