Urgent engineering work will begin at Lindow Moss on Monday, January 25th, as part of the restoration programme.
In 2018 Croghan Peat were given planning consent to build 14 houses on the peat processing site conditional upon them restoring the rest of the area to a raised bog habitat - as it was before peat extraction commenced.
Martin Cooper, the site manager for Croghan Peat, confirmed to Transition Wilmslow that they had completed a survey, with the use of drones, to enable them to put together the detailed design for the restoration of the area.
The section on the south side of the central access track (identified as compartment 5) could not be surveyed because of the large volume of surface water due to a blocked drain. The water in Compartment 5 will need to be reduced in order to protect the main access track.
Therefore, starting on Monday, January 25th, engineering work will begin to construct new (East to West) drains to connect Compartment 5 to Compartment 4. The drains will be cut through the access track to the former Peat Farm (peat processing site). This will allow water to drain from Compartment 5 to Compartment 4, as shown in the drainage plan for the approved restoration scheme.
As spokesperson for Transition Wilmslow, commented "In the summer of 2020, a peat bund was installed in the main drain with a connecting pipe to set the water level in the SW corner of Compartment 6B. This is the principal Water Vole habitat on the site. This drain has been deliberately blocked, raising the water levels in Compartment 6B and threatening the Water Vole habitat.
"The drain through the peat bund has now been cleared and Jeff Clarke the consultant ecologist is concerned that this remains clear to safeguard the habitat of this protected species."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
The whole situation shows how the water has been removed from the Moss. This in turn has drawn water from the surrounding area causing subsidence for several hundred meters radius around the Moss and including the area where the fourteen new houses are to be built.
Good luck to the owners of the new houses when the subsidence shows up in there new houses like it has in other local properties.
I would also like to point out that good practice says that the water should be released slowly as not to cause flooding in the water vole tunnels. Voles are easily drowned when trapped in their tunnels in a flash flood. Lets hope the operator takes a vole friendly approach to the work.
This peat was deemed unsuitable for restoration purposes by Martin Cooper, now supervising the repair, and was shipped off to Somerset where it was used for commercial purposes. We know this was so as we are in regular contact with residents living near the Croghan yard in Meare who have suffered similar problems to us over the years.
Removing the peat has left a large hole where the ‘lake’ has formed and the continual use of heavy machinery to remove that peat is the reason for the blocked drain. It should also be pointed out to Martin Cooper that you can’t repair a raised mire peat bog that has taken thousands of years to form.
Good luck to those eventually buying a house on the peat yard. As we pointed out at the Strategic Planning Board meeting, UK deformation figures for the bog show massive subsidence. The fact CEC planning department mis-led the board saying the subsidence was negligible only proves their desperate attempt to off-load the problem.
And don’t forget, when Derek Gow (UK authority on water voles and beavers) visited the site for a second time in 2015, he stated I HAVE NEVER SEEN A SITE SO COMPREHENSIVELY TRASHED. Thanks to Croghan Peat, Terraqueous and Cheshire East Council that still holds true today.
Tony Evans
SCPS
The final straw (and crowning example of how they operate - an insult to the ratepayers) was 'allowing' themselves to be blackmailed (by Croghan Peat et al) into approving planning permission for 14 domestic dwellings just so Croghan could wring the absolute maximum profit from their shameful commercial activities - wonder why they managed to continually 'flout the rules' with impunity...?
I'm not an expert, and whilst I have read expert opinion on this site, This isn’t going to stop any time soon.
Who would buy a property where local searches will indicate to be built on moss ?
Can buildings insurance cover in advance for future subsidence ?
For many years CCC and CEC failed to monitor the extraction and restitution process they were charged with enforcing, I hope that is not the case now and there is some clarity / transparency to a rigorous inspection regime.
What does the one about turkeys, voting and Christmas suggest? Following the last local elections I was expecting a change for the good, sadly it looks like any sort of quantum change to the CEC governance/management scenario will not float during my lifetime.
The willing fools in this whole sorry story are current (bumbling) local government incumbents CEC, the baddies are Croghan Peat and their cohorts - what's there to change? It's so pathetic that any right thinker would assume there is complicity - there is another recent and obvious example in the 'reputed' falsification of air quality data by CEC - our constabulary following considerable investigation over 2/1/2 years couldn't 'present' evidence of criminal activity but stated that whatever it's defined as, it was deliberate (so maybe not the fools as previously alluded).
I believe CEC are still solely interested in the easy option - growth of income from rates = more and more building; value for [our] money, finding real efficiencies etc., the more difficult option, hasn't seriously been put front and centre. The short term may result in even more dosh for them to fritter away on anything but efficient core services/management (good core services should be relatively easy to deliver and are what the ratepayer needs).
Elsewhere in this publication we read CEC publicity about lack of public response to a local transport consultation. Is it any wonder, they haven't taken much notice of previous consultations (all excruciatingly drawn out affairs) with the objective of seeking to tick the convenient 'consultations took place' box.
So much for conditions.