Appendix A: Fossey Field 6.9.21 Meeting

Appendix A

Suggestions for the Fossey Field closed in June and since then nothing seems to have happened. This will make two years that the field has been left, other than me cutting it last year.
The longer this field is left unmanaged the harder it will be to do anything with it. Already the ragwort is now covering half the field and with it at its seeding stage, a few million seeds will blow over the field with a large number germinating, By next year the whole field will be covered in Ragwort.
To attempt to suppress the ragwort and get parts of the field ready for wild flowers etc,, it will need to be cut three times (March, August and October) all the cutting removed from the field each cut, and composted. This will now need to be carried out for the next two to three years; Yellow Rattle then sown to suppress the grass, after than then one can start thinking about wild flowers!
The plan that I put forward at a PC meeting when you were in the last stages of considering taking on their lease for the Fossey Field, if put forward again, would save valuable time and if nothing else 80m x 60m of the field would be taken up by an U8 to U10 football pitch which is needed by Comberton Crusaders and would be maintained by the Recreation Ground. It should be noted that a least seven Eversden parents are either managers or coaches with Comberton Crusaders Football Teams this season and their children playing in the teams.
Football started on the Recreation Ground on Saturday and seven balls were used in the match due to the state of the awarded drain (ditch), and not being able to retrieve balls due to the vast number of trees that have fallen over into the ditch, making it impossible in most places to even see the balls, let alone bet them. We would appreciate a “high importance” mark be put again getting the drain/ditch cleared of the trees, bushes an divvy, at least the area being the top football pitch.
It makes sense that the field links with the recreation ground, and with the new pavilion could be a Centre for school trips, talks on nature and biodiversity, together with community days i.e. Scything, butterfly count, the opportunities are endless.
To take all the worries, responsibilities and of speeding things up that this field comes under the umbrella of the recreation ground and allocated a precept for its development, initially 2 or 3 thousand points which would come down once established.
We would get a small group together that are interested in helping in collecting bales, ditch clearance and establishing the various areas.

Derek Blatch
6.9.21