In recent months a number of changes have taken place in The Carrs to improve its appearance to local residents, visitors and wildlife.
The Friends of The Carrs (FOTC) have recently planted over 100 trees in the town park consisting of Oaks, Beech, Silver Birch, Cherry and Rowan.
These included two dozen Oak trees which were were transplanted from Lindow Common earlier this month with the help of the Cheshire East Ranger Service. FOTC members planted them around the Twinnies Bridge car park and along the Styal Road fence, leaving room between them for other varieties.
All the other trees were provided by British Trust for Conservation volunteers as part of their efforts to support local groups. The trees were planted by members at a number of locations in The Carrs where they will improve wildlife corridors, with the aim of increasing the variety and numbers of birds and other wild life. In addition the trees will add to the natural beauty of The Carrs.
The tree planting follows on from the planting of wild flowers towards the end of 2010 which will also encourage wildlife and provide additional colour to this open space in the spring and summer. FOTC members are also putting a number of bird boxes in the park to encourage more of the birds to nest in the area.
The Friends of The Carrs were fortunate to receive a grant of £340 from Waitrose recently as part of their Community Matters Scheme. This is the second time they have received support from Waitrose and the funds will helped to improve the range of wild flowers and trees in the park and improve its appearance to both visitors and wildlife.
Additional changes to the park include a new bridge over the river Bollin, as Cheshire East Council are currently replacing an unsafe wooden bridge that crosses the river. The bridge has been closed whilst the work takes place but will be re-opened in approximately 6 weeks time.
Chairman Colin Shepherd, Chairman of FOTC said "By replacing the bridge the local council has ensured that visitors to The Carrs will still have a choice of walking routes from the Twinnies Bridge car park.
For a considerable time The Friends have been pressing for work to be undertaken on the river banks to reduce erosion of the banks and to repair the worst of the damage that has arisen during recent years.
Following discussions with Cheshire East Council and the Environment Agency they are delighted that work will begin in March to the most damaged areas and those most at risk from further erosion.
Colin said "It will not be possible to treat all of the banks through the length of The Carrs but the selected locations will go a long way to recovering the neglect of recent years.
"In line with current ideas on flood control and river control the measures taken will mainly be of a soft engineering nature rather than stone walls or metal piling that would just turn the river into a canal.
"Unfortunately this does mean that for a time the river banks around the treated areas may not look particularly attractive but in the longer term natural soft solutions should prove far more beneficial and reduce the risks of new or bigger problems elsewhere along this stretch of the river."
Later in the spring The Friends of The Carrs will again be attacking the invasive Himalayan Balsam and the grant from Waitrose will help towards the cost of equipment and materials.
Colin explained "Over the last few years we have enjoyed some success in bringing the invasive Balsam under control along about half the length of the river in The Carrs and this year if we can employ greater resources we hope we can treat a greater area."
"The problem of invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam, Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hogweed is becoming increasingly recognised as a problem that needs to be tackled, albeit a problem that will take several years to successfully bring under control."
The work carried out by the Friends of The Carrs complements work carried out elsewhere along the river by other groups and it is now looking increasing likely that an umbrella group will be formed to oversee a full Bollin Valley campaign on these weeds and ensure that resources are used to achieve the best results.
In addition to the clearing of the Himalayan Balsam in June and July, other events are planned for The Carrs during 2011, details of which can be found in our events calendar or on their website.
