Slipper Mill Pond Preservation
Association
Registered Charity No:277744
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Registered Charity No.: 277744 Newsletter - March 2011
Chairman's Introduction: It is with great pleasure that we are able to announce that the West Bank has been repaired and strengthened, and that its path has been resurfaced. This issue briefly describes the long drawn out process to achieve this - and it's thanks to all our Committee Members and our supporters over many years that we have been able to accomplish the seemingly impossible. The work will ensure the safety of our pond and its ecosystem for future generations. We look forward to a productive year with plenty of birds, plants and fish and hopefully, the new planting taking root. Nick Madinaveitia Wildlife Report March 2011 Gavin Millar reports:
"The first, and main, part of this report is hardly a description of life in the wild, more an account of our attempts to emulate Capability Brown by judicious "improvements "to the East Bank. First we gave a cut to the grass at the SE corner of the pond and the area just south of the Arbutus so that we can, at the end of the year, assess the relative merits of cutting ,or not cutting the grass in the autumn, as agreed at the A.G.M. Similarly, as agreed on that occasion, we have planted some trees including a Hawthorn and two (tiny)Holly seedlings, courtesy of the Chairman, two Sorbus, and a beautiful pot-grown Willow kindly donated by Kay and Les Douglas. Finally we have planted some wild roses -3 each of R.canina, R.rugosa, and R. rubiginosa. Time will tell whether they like it there, and whether their presence will add to the charms of the bank and soften the impact of the structures behind. Bird life has been fairly typical for the winter period, with numbers of over-wintering coots, moorhens, dabchicks, lots of (mainly black-headed) gulls, a few cormorants and the usual Mallards and Mute Swans. I had thought the cold spell before Christmas might bring some unusual visitors from the north, but apart from, as last year, a small group of Tufted Ducks and a brief appearance from a Pochard, there were no great surprises. Despite flocks of up to 17 Red-breasted Mergansers in the Emsworth channel we saw none on the pond itself.
Sea Buckthorn - berries
West Bank Refurbishment
The banks of the pond have always been attentively cared for. Many repairs have been carried out in the past particularly in the 1980s by the Conservancy and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. Routine inspection in 2003 highlighted various issues, leading to the current cycle of repairs.
Detailed examination of the outside face showed that some bags were breaking up and sections being undermined particularly by seepage. An enthusiastic work-party was formed and the worst was made good by patching and underpinning sections of the outer face.
Firstly the worst places were underpinned and the rotten
sandbags replaced. A 'Workday' was called and some 15 volunteers helped carrying
materials, preparing foundations, mixing concrete and reinforcing the wall.
To provide a longer term solution a fringe of sea club rush reeds was planted in timber frames filled with topsoil at pond water level along the bank.
Experiments a year earlier had confirmed the viability of the
solution. The Association was most grateful for the support and financial help
from the Conservancy and West Sussex County Council.
Attention now turned to the stability of the bank itself. Preliminary analysis identified problems at the South end and a portion of the central part of the bank. The scope of the work and the risks involved were too great for even the keenest of SMPPA volunteers to undertake. Enquiries revealed that when the gabions were installed in the 1980s in the section immediately to the north of the critical part enthusiasts had withdrawn timbers from the mud which prompted the core of the bank to gradually collapse. The contractor involved at the time resolved matters with a concrete footing. Further analysis and risk assessment showed that major works were required and needed a professional approach as, in addition to the obvious problems of a failure blocking Dolphin Creek, there would be a serious risk to volunteers working in a tidal situation with an unstable bank. The central section was showing obvious signs of distress;
being washed out and the bank starting to sink.
The SMPPA appointed Ove Arup Consulting Engineers to carry out a geotechnical investigation and put forward recommendations. The first stage, late in 2005, was followed by detailed testing early in 2006. Their report confirmed that the sections identified earlier were seriously at risk, and put forward outline solutions involving the refurbishment of the foundations of the outer face of the bank. Many contractors were approached for estimates on a 'design and construct' basis and only a very few responded. Eventually it became apparent that an overall budget cost of about £100,000 was achievable. This was well beyond the reach of the SMPPA so much time and effort went into trying to locate grant giving bodies. Spirits were very low as enquiry after enquiry produced no results. Eventually the Veolia Environmental Trust, a Landfill Communities Fund to community and environmental projects in the UK near some of the landfills and facilities operated by Veolia Environmental Services (UK) plc. showed interest. Negotiations were started and their requirements were that there was a fully costed and approved scheme prior to a formal application. With the encouragement of the possible grant and as it was late summer the Committee decided to apply for full Planning Approval as soon as possible aiming for construction early in 2009 to avoid the breeding season. The Arup proposals were straightforward and early consultations with the Conservancy, the Environment Agency and Natural England had all been positive suggesting that the process would be straightforward. At a pre-application meeting with Chichester District Council the Association was recommended to repeat the earlier consultations and include them as part of the Application.
The processing proved interminable as the various officers referred the SMPPA to other sections within their organisations, but eventually in the February of 2009 the Application was lodged. To the SMPPA's consternation the application was referred to Havant District Council. Although everyone believed the county boundary ran along the centre of Dolphin Creek, the administrative boundary is apparently the high water mark on the outer face of the pond bank. Approval was finally given late in May subject to the agreement of a Method Statement. The SMPPA was now in a position to seek offers for engineering services to look after the detailed technical aspects of the work including the Method Statement and the compliance with the Construction Design and Management Regulations. Six practices were asked to submit and their offers evaluated. Ove Arup were asked to bid but declined saying that their fees would be prohibitively high. The George Brown Consultancy submitted a most favourable financial offer and in addition they intended using the same geotechnical advisor as Ove Arup. The fees for this stage were substantial and, by the Autumn, sufficient Grants had been assembled so that the Association was able to ask the consultant to commence. The Design and Documentation was complete by the end of November and fixed price tenders were invited from six firms. The lowest offer came from Caroway of Rowlands Castle and was fortunately within the scope of the funding available North Section Design South Section Design
Preconditions now met, the funding bid to Veolia was prepared and submitted in March 2010, with strong indications that it would be successful when the results were announced in July. The SMPPA was very hopeful that work could start in September and be completed before Winter set in. Meanwhile the consultant submitted the Method Statement to the conservancy for approval, initiating a series of discussions with the Environment Agency, Natural England and WSCC Ecological Unit. After much correspondence the Statement was agreed in principle. Unfortunately Veolia turned down the funding request at the end of July saying that they were oversubscribed. Despite generous grants from the Conservancy, there were insufficient Association funds. The project seemed doomed. Last minute enquiries revealed the possibility that the Three Harbours and Coastal Plain LEADER Action Group might fund it as part of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Investing in Rural Areas. By the beginning of September a bid had been prepared and was submitted to their September Meeting cycle. This bid was successful, though the conditions attached meant that all work and payments had to be made by the end of March 2011. Caroway, the contractor, reconfirmed they could carry out the works and promised a start in November - which was postponed. Eventually they were able to start at the beginning of January with a promised completion date of the end of February. Work started slowly at the beginning of January. The site accommodation was established close to Slipper Mill and a temporary bridge built over the tidal gate entrance.
Caroway used a 3 tonne digger and dumper to start work on the Southern Section. Two metre sections of the creek bed at the foot of the outer face of the bank were excavated and carefully filled with concrete in two layers.
The first was the foundation and the second a
retaining strip to ensure it was well keyed in. Work was carefully controlled
and no two sections adjacent to one another were worked on at the same time.
Holes were left so that the Conservancy could insert poles for navigation marks if needed and residue at the bottom of Dolphin Creek was cleared away.
When the lower works were complete the top of the bank was
made good with new sandbags.
Caroway have made good any damage, seeded the disturbed earth and reinstated the footpath. Even though the footpath and its surface are WSCC's responsibility the SMPPA suggested that the Northern end of the path be resurfaced at the same time at WSCC's expense. This was agreed and the works were coupled to the Association's contract..
The lowest part of the path acts as a spillway during the peak of high Spring tides and suffers erosion from the passage of water over it With work proceeding well in January it was suggested that providing a hard surface just South of the Kissing Gates at Chequer's Quay would be a good idea. The suggestion was to widen the lower part for about ten metres to the South which, while being almost a cosmetic change to the bank's profile, would help.
Obtaining agreement and approval to this with all the interested parties proved to be very involved though just possible in the time available. When it became apparent that full Planning Permission was needed with a minimum 8 week consultation period it was abandoned as impractical. It is inevitable that in the near future the path in that area will deteriorate again and WSCC will have to continue to look after it.
Everyone admired the way the Caroway
team worked in the very unpleasant January and February weather with many wet
and raw days. Access to the bottom of the creek was controlled by the tides and
there were some days when it was not practical to work at all. The stream edge
at the foot of the bank was soft at the start and got worse and worse as the
works progressed. There was only minimal disturbance to the neighbours and the
site was left clean and tidy. This account cannot conclude with out listing the Association's thanks to the many organisations that gave their help:
The Association will be inviting representatives of these organisations to inspect the works later in April. Particular mention must also be made of George Brown Consultancy, Ove Arup and Partners and Caroway for their friendship, help and flexibility in achieving the project. Everyone was most impressed how the team worked on the bank whenever the tide permitted, how cheerful they were and how they left the site tidy at the end. Whilst the final reckoning of the finances is still to be made, indications are that the Association will still have well over £10,000 in the Bank at the end of the day.
Spring Talk 'The Spring Talk this year will be held at the Pastoral Centre in Emsworth on Friday 6th May 2011 at 8.00 pm. Nick Madina will start the evening by reporting on the Slipper Mill Pond West Bank project – an extremely important project, now completed. Ed Rowsell, Conservation Officer of the Harbour conservancy, will then talk about his work and, in particular, the conservation of birds and fish in the Harbour. Coffee and tea will be served at the end of the evening. Dates for your Diary for 2011
(Photos: Nick Madinaveitia except where noted) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Slipper Mill Pond Preservation Association 
Now we are seeing signs
of spring, with Periwinkle and Lesser Celandine in flower for a bit now and
Daffodils just coming out. With the contractors for the West Bank works (a very
friendly and professional group of people) moving out as I write, we can, with
luck, look forward to a peaceful and fruitful summer." 
Initially
holes in the surface of the bank were the immediate cause for concern, and the
Association filled them with concrete. Further deepening hollows in the path
prompted a ground radar survey, commissioned with the help of the Conservancy to
check if the problems were localised. 
The initial inspection had revealed that the inside face of the
pond had serious problems. The sandbag face had been installed without any
foundation in many places and the wear and tear of wave action, seepage and the
tides meant that they were in poor condition. The problem was addressed in two
ways. 
Work on the
Northern section proceeded on similar lines with the soft clay and mud at the
bottom of the bank first being taken away. In places some of the original timber
walling was found and, being in good condition, it was left in place and
concreted in. 
