[To see a plan of the site - click here]

The site slopes gently down towards the north, and is intersected by two fast-flowing, steep-sided ghylls, which are bridged at several points. The landscape value of these water features could be further enhanced by a managed programme of scrub clearance and replanting with native trees and wildflowers.

An avenue of mature deciduous trees runs along the northern, eastern and southern sides of the site, whilst there is a continuous belt of mixed hardwood and softwood trees immediately adjacent to the western boundary. As the prevailing wind is from the west, the latter feature would act as a beneficial shelter belt for trees planted within the site.

At present, the predominant vegetation over most of the site is grass with significant encroachments of bracken, gorse and brambles, and a few, scattered individual trees. There is ample scope for tree-planting with selective removal of the scrub, to develop an intimate landscape of woodland with open glades, based on the existing path network.

Many of the paths on site originally had a hard surface, which has become overgrown; and some stretches of path are now partially obstructed by enchroaching vegetation. Regular path clearance would improve the site by increasing its accessibility, especially to less-able pedestrians and wheelchair users.

A large, roughly-surfaced area surrounds the site of a now-demolished bandstand, and it is envisaged that part of this would be broken up to provide extra space for planting, whilst retaining part for maintenance access, concealed car-parking, and as a setting for two of the proposed structural features of the site.

Site History