Lake construction starts at Aisle Valley Farm

Tuesday 27, April 2010

Construction work is currently underway on the building of approximately 2 acres of water in the heart of the Norfolk Countryside.  Aisle Valley Farm is tucked away in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the east of Whitwell near Reepham.  The countryside around where the lake is situated offers a stunning array of flora and fauna as well an impressive selection of wildlife too.

Unsurprisingly, the project has involved a complex series of discussions with the relevant planning authorities in order to secure permission for the lake’s construction.  The owner of the field where the lake is to be constructed is carrying out the project with a view to enhancing the local plant and wildlife as well as transforming a very wet area of marsh which has remained inaccessible for the majority of the year owing to the fact that it is submerged beneath water.  The site was used for occasional grazing of cattle when conditions allowed but recent consecutive wet summers have prevented even this happening.

We've been involved in managing the venture from the outset, co-ordinating a series of discussions between all of the relevant parties involved in making the project happen.  Various experts and authorities have been invaluable ensuring that the lake is designed to offer a haven to local wildlife in the future and there is little doubt that without this expertise on board the project would probably have never happened.  A team of archaelogists, ecologists, planning engineers as well as organisations such as the Environment Agency have formed the backbone of planning process and the practical start this week represents the culmination of many months of planning.

We're carrying out all of the practical aspects of the physical construction of the lake and are currently involved in ‘de-watering’ the site with some high capacity specialist pumping equipment before the excavation process of the lake itself can actually start.  Site Foreman Mark Bales who is responsible for running the site said that the ground conditions had been especially challenging after a prolonged wet spell over the winter months but that the recent spell of sunny and dry weather this spring had been vital in allowing the project to get underway.

The project is expected to take around a month to complete and has been specifically scheduled in for April, to take advantage of the warmer spring weather resulting in drier working conditions.  The spring work window was also selected to allow the seeding of a specialist wildflower and grass mixture on the ground surrounding the lake following completion of the work.  The warm and moist conditions should allow the rapid establishment of the wildflower meadow around the lake and a long term management plan has also been designed to allow the wildflowers the optimum conditions in which to prosper.