A New Wildlife and Community Corner of Fram

Autumn 2022

The map shows the plans for our two fields on the edge of Fram tagged with when each item has been completed:
Old Way Environmental Work 2022

For pollinating insects:
	nectar-flower mix [sown Sep'22]
	flower-rich grass mix [sown Sep'22]
	2-yr clover-legume mix [sown Sep'22],
	as part of our crop rotation.
For wild birds:
	wild-bird seed mix [sown Spring'22],
	over each winter we supplement this with large wild-bird feeders
	Native English hedgerow [complete Jan'23]:
	1,000m of hedgerow planted all around the rest of the field called Hatchers;
	as well as a home for wild birds, a hedgerow should make the Old Way footpath a more pleasant walk.
For gardeners:
	New allotments ( info and application form );
	to complement the other private and council-run allotments in Fram [up and running Mar'23].
Please keep to the footpaths, with dogs on a lead
	The wild-flower areas are for wildlife, not dogs. They are to make your walks more pleasant as you walk past them, not through them. We will be adding permissive footpaths around the wild-flower areas as well.

Plans for 2023 and beyond

For aquatic life:
	We'll dig a couple of new ponds [Complete Apr'24]
To help restore the landscape and encourage more wildlife:
	We'll plant some native English trees, and eventually a small orchard of fruit and nut trees.
Community facilities:
	A new Scout & Guide Headquarters;
	being planned, but it may take some years, depending on fund-raising.

All the above is part of our intention to provide space in Fram for community facilities and wildlife, which most housing developments have managed to side-step. This continues the tradition started by our Great Grandfather, Isaac Larter, who provided the land for the Sports Club and Pageant Field.

Funding: The UK Government's Countryside Stewardship scheme is helping with funding. The return will be somewhat less than farming the land, but overall we don't intend to be completely out of pocket, because long-term we're hoping to sell or lease selected parcels of land for more community facilities. For instance, we're co-operating with the Sports Club, and we're open to suggestions from other community initiatives. We might allow a very small amount of housing if absolutely necessary to fund other community facilities. But we have no intention of packing in a full housing development, even though we know the returns would be far greater.

JC Larter & Co

4 Oct 2022

Last updated 19 Sep 2024