onionbagblog

For a community that is often characterised by uptowners and downtowners, I can now add a further geographical dimension to Wivenhoe’s spatial definitions: East or West when it comes to the Colne.

I am very much a West side sort of guy, cycling along the Trail most mornings en route for a swim. It was during this daily journey where I first saw the signs for the sea wall clearance being put in place by the Environment Agency.

I’ve blogged before about how the rather severe haircut of the bushes and brambles has taken away some of the natural beauty heading out towards the Hythe. We can even see a clear view of Rowhedge, what with Ferry Marsh now reverting to being simply a marsh, and not much else.

But I had no idea of the parallel work that was being undertaken out past the Sailing Club and towards Alresford Creek. This is my usual running route, but I’ve been crocked since Christmas.

Therefore I was indebted to the Wivenhoe Forum (whaddya mean you’ve *still* not signed up?) user Fiona, for kindly sharing and showing some concern about the brutal act of countryside vandalism being carried out on the eastside towards the estuary.

Fiona is not alone in feeling that this is countryside pruning being taken a step too far. Login to Facebook, and you can read about other Wivenhoe locals all horrified about the overnight disappearance of some of our outstanding patches of rural beauty.

A spare hour in the working day on Wednesday, and I went off to have a look for myself. I knew it would be a worthwhile trip when the first person I spoke to was Fiona, up towards the top end of Queens Road.

Fiona prepared me for what was to follow - a savage cutting of the bushes, brambles and hedgerows, all the way from the Sailing Club and out as far as where the woodland starts for the old Crab ‘n Winkle line.

The concern now for Fiona and others is exactly how far will this culling of the countryside creep into? All the way out towards Alresford Creek? The signs put in place by the Environment Agency are unclear; clarification has been asked for - no replies have been received as yet.

The issue of communication is quite central to this whole clearance from East to West. It has been confirmed that Wivenhoe Town Council was informed about the planned mass clearance back in August of 2010. The appearance of the bulldozers in recent weeks is the first that many Wivenhoe locals have known about the destruction.

The wander out towards the Creek is perhaps the most scenic and beautiful stretches in all of Essex. This is the view put forward by bird watcher Alex Bass during his talk to the Wivenhoe Society towards the tail end of last year.

Likewise it is used by Wivenhoe birder supreme, Richard Allen. Before the bulldozers moved in, Richard was passing the message around to head down past the Sailing Club for the rare chance to see fifteen waxwings, temporarily taking up residence in one of the now bulldozed bushes.

On a purely personal and selfish front, this now all means that I will have to scramble around somewhere else to pick my blackberries, rosehips and sloes come next September. I’m just pleased that I managed to capture some of the stunning scenery in my hit ‘n miss bike ride video.

And so it seems that the work has been carried out with little public consultation, and at such an alarming pace that has caught uptowners, downtowners, east and west all by surprise.

With most of the Wivenhoe boundary having now been cropped, the Environment Agency diggers are working their way menacingly towards the Crab ‘n Winkle patch that technically falls under Tendring District Council [#bigsociety ahoy!]

Sure, most of the vegetation will eventually grow back - but how long? A year? Two years? Longer? And will the brutal destruction by the Environment Agency then become a regular event in the Wivenhoe calendar? And what of the wildlife, waxwings et al, that we may not see around these parts for some considerable time now?

As a reminder, the reason for the culling is supposedly all about protecting the sea wall. From looking at the images below, I can’t but help think that the exact opposite has been achieved.