Barrington Hill National Nature Reserve Drainage and site improvement works

The work involves a combination of ditch clearance and maintenance work, including installation of new associated drainage infrastructure. To enable the ditching work it will be necessary to undertake significant scrub clearance, hedge laying and fencing work alongside the ditching work.

The work ideally needs to be carried out when ground conditions are dry to avoid significant damage and disturbance, and we anticipate this is likely to be between 1st September - 31st October 2017 and contractors should plan and be prepared to complete works within this timescale. However, depending on site specific ground and weather conditions some flexibility may be required and on the advice of Natural England staff work may need to delayed and carried out between: October 31st 2017 - March 21st 2018.

Co-ordinated project management will be required to ensure the work is successfully completed on time because all elements of the work are inter-related and the project is very much dependent upon a staged, sequential approach. For instance scrub clearance and hedge laying will in most cases be required before a ditch can be cleared and finally fenced. Project management of all works will be undertaken by the contractor and the contractor should identify a Project Manager who will oversee works on the ground and liaise with Natural England staff for the duration of the project.

All access in and out of the reserve will need to be cleared with Natural England staff to check ground conditions are suitable and machinery movements across and within the reserve should be kept to an absolute minimum. Machinery movements should be restricted to field edges to minimise damage to the species rich grassland and no machinery should be driven across fields, or more than 2m away from the hedgerow boundary. Contractors should exercise caution and common sense and if significant ground disturbance or damage is occurring work should cease and Natural England staff should be contacted.

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