The Rowlands Dell Project (adjacent Hare & Hounds Pub)

Eight Week Update:

Woodland Path, completed with fence/rail and half the path completed with a tarmac appearance comprising of a porous resin bound material, whilst the other half is woodchip, to save on costs.
Viewing Area, block paving and three seats installed. Three picnic tables installed in close proximity. Cascading from block paving flowerbed is a dry waterfall feature cascading down the slope, comprising of my parents donated Lakeland rock, whilst the water appearance will be created from blue recycled rubber.
Protected Trees (TPO) assessed and made safe for the first time, six self seeded sycamores and one dead medium-sized tree removed, woodchip and logs recycled on site. Now replaced with six standard trees. Multiple bird boxes and bug hotels attached to the trees.
Sunken Garden, completed with block paving, raised planted flower beds, with picnic table and landscaped around.
Debris removal, the final mountains of vegetation debris cleared by the volunteers was kindly removed by the landscapers.
Hedge re-established, the top edge was reduced to a manageable 5 foot for the first time in 10 years.
Shrub and thousands of bulb have been planted and the North Slope has been seeded with grass.
4 donated Gabion cages and rocks will be installed next week along the pathway to create seating.
A galvanised metal archway that will house logs, is being created for the Westway entrance from our Co-op partners year-long donations and will highlight the overarching term of neuro diversity and will be installed next week.
Two large bins have been obtained and will be installed next week.

It is anticipated that the Richard England landscapers who have been so enormously friendly, professional and helpful will complete their work by the end of next week, at which point Rowlands Dell will be reopened.

Background.

Rowlands Dell is an historic quarry that has become a beautiful haven for nature but has become overgrown and treated like an open tip for 30 years. Which has made it harmful to humans and wildlife alike, whilst its neglect was a potential magnet for developers in our town where every green space is a target for building. Consequently, following three years of planning a three-stage plan was established by the Friends of Maghull and District (FOMD) and NHS partners and landowners.

Stage I, resulted in dedicated FOMD volunteers undertaking 46 consecutive weekly sessions to remove 266 bin bags of rubbish and 25 tons of debris which was tenaciously locked in by beautiful yet dominant invasive and destructive Ivy.

Stage II, has remarkably involved our NHS partners successfully obtaining an £80,000 health and wellness fund never used in the north-west before and a successful £8000 Morrisons grant application undertaken by FOMD and partners TCV which was a highly competitive national 125^th anniversary fund. Consequently, the NHS partners – Groundworks commissioned their landscape architect design plans, obtain planning permission, identified Richard England landscapers through a tendering process. The landscapers have temporarily closed the site for two months for insurance purposes and commenced the eight weeks of work on the 17.9.24, involving hard and soft landscaping.

Stage III: will involve further fundraising to repopulate Rowlands Dell with further woodland trees, shrubs, planting to enhance biodiversity within this natural haven.

We are enormously grateful to Richard England and his team for is friendly fantastic work.

Best Wishes,

FOMD

Together Making Maghull a better place to live.

More Information at:

FOMD www.fomd.co.uk

Morrisons www.morrisonsfoundation.com

TCV www.tcv.org.uk/

Full Plans and documents: https://pa.sefton.gov.uk/onlineapplications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=S84GCCNWJDF00&activeTab=summary

Contact: admi@fomd.co.uk

#fomdcic #Maghull #Environment