Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area

Environment Agency staff volunteering at Brackenhill ULAEnvironment Agency staff volunteering at Brackenhill ULABEES have a mangement agreement with the Council's Countryside and Rights of Way team to manage Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area. It is the area adjacent to Brackenhill Park in Great Horton and is managed to maximise the wildlife potential of the site. Our key jobs in the past year have been to repair the drystone wall along Greenfield Lane, to uncover and repair footpaths and steps and to control the litter and Japanese Knotweed.

In the forthcoming year we plan to further repair sections of pathway and to improve the quality of the pond. The Environment Agency carried out a survey of the pond last year and found, despite first appearances, that there is sign of invertebrate life in the pond. We hope to improve the amount of oxygenating and marginal plants.

Brackenhill Pond Survey

Geolocation

53.782423, -1.787295

Conservation Work

Fri 24th Oct: Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area

Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area 24 Oct 08 1Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area 24th Oct 08We spent the morning clearing litter and fly tipping from two parts of the site. It was really satisfying to clear the stream of tyres and gas bottles and see it running again. One tyre was so big it took five of us to lift it on the Clean Team's wagon. In the afternoon we concentrated on improving the previous work on the steps from the Havelock Street entrance and removing the Himalayan balsam from the edge of the meadow area. We had six volunteers on the day.

See other photos of the day in the gallery

 

 

Friday 21st Aug: Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area, Westcroft Road, Great Horton, BD7

Friday 21 August 2009 Brackenhill ULA: Hard at work on the stepsHard at work on the steps

 Another great turn out of volunteers today with 15 in total. We carried out a variety of our regular maintenance jobs at the site. There was the collection of litter with 12 bags, removal of invasive plant species at 4 locations, path and step clearance at Green Lane and the central footpath. We were able to complete a lot of work to improve the site. Worth noting that the hedge which we laid in the winter has leafed up and is looking in good condition, as are the trees which we planted 3 winters ago and the grass area has several native wildflowers including Knapweed.

Friday 5th February 2010: Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area, Westcroft Road, Great Horton, Bradford, BD7.

Cutting the pleacherCutting the pleacherToday we returned to the same site as last week to further progress the work that was started. One group set off to the main site to the ensure the footpaths were clear, repair a wall and return shopping trollies. The other group carried on with the hedge. They quickly got into the work from the skills gained last week. First there was clearing and trimming to be done, then pleachers were cut and lastly trees placed into the line of the hedge supported by stakes. At the end of the day I am delighted to report that we completed the whole section, a great achievement for the group. The hedge will grow and provide a different habitat and we will return in a few years to relay it. 

Today we worked with 15 volunteers.

Click here for some other great photos of the work. 

Friday 20th August: Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area, Great Horton, BD7

Steps after clearingSteps after clearingToday there were enough volunteers to split into smaller groups. One group concentrated on making sure the pathways remained accessible at the central steps and then the lane from the school. The next group focussed on the invasive plant species, with two patches of Japense Knotweed and two patches of Himalayan Balsam tackled. The others concentrated on collecting litter, which although did appear too bad still managed to collect over 12 bags, including two from the pond.

Today we worked with 12 volunteers.

Click here to see other photos of the day.  

Friday 13th July 2012: Local Sites

One day - four sites!

We do not often move around in one day but felt a couple of sites needed a visit but couldn't entertain us all day.

Half of us spent the day at Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area in Great Horton. Tasks included hedge cutting, litter clearance and Japanese knotweed control.

The itinerant volunteers started the morning at Reevy Mill Dam, cutting back overhanging branches, cutting the path and clearing litter. Before meeting the other team for lunch we made a visit to the BEES UNR, where again we cut paths and overhanging branches to ensure access is easy. The wood vetch is now well established and looks splendid, and we enjoyed seeing quite a few newts sheltering in the woodland.

The afternoon visit to the orchard was in response to the break in on Monday night. The door has been broken beyond repair so we wanted to make it weather proof until it can be replaced. Whilst there we cleared round some trees, mowed the paths and some grass areas and did a bit of weeding in the vegetable beds. The frost in May definitely damaged some blossom, but there are some apples on the trees.

Friday 25th January 2013: Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area, Westcroft Road, Great Horton, Bradford BD7

Friday 25th January 2013We had to change the site today as the snow covering the tree planting site at Dewsbury Country Park prevented this task from going ahead. This task has been rescheduled for 1st March.

Instead we returned to Brackenhill to complete the task of removing willow that has been overhanging the pathway. As well as opening improving access the felling work has also opened up the hazel coppice on the field behind and inspired us to manage this in a more proactive way in the future. We were joined by the Council’s Countryside officers who chipped the branches that were too small to be harvested for charcoal. In addition they took away the old fence that served no purpose but was a hazard to passers-by.

We also did some maintenance of the hedge on Old Corn Mill Lane, to prevent it obscuring the road.

Today we worked with 13 volunteers

Friday 18th October 2013 Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area, Westcroft Road, Bradford, BD7

There were quite a few jobs to be on with today. One was to rehang the kissing gate, this was a difficult job as the old post had to be dug out first, but as it was concrete it had to be chipped out with a crow bar. By the end we had managed to get the new post in and holes drilled ready for the gate to be hung again. We also cut the meadow area at the entrance and cut the nettles and bindweed along the path and at the fence. This will make the site seem more cared for and allow other plants a chance to grow. The path along bottom of the site was cleared and this will make access easier for the public. But as we are still without our autoscythe the meadow did not get a full cut but we plan to in spring next year. This will benefit the wildflowers that are growing there like Meadowsweet, Meadow Cranesbill and Bird’s foot trefoil.

Today we worked with 10 volunteers.

Click here to see other photos of the day and site.

 

Fri 23rd Jan 09 Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area, Westcroft Road, Great Horton

Making stakes for the hedgelaying tasksMaking stakes for the hedgelaying tasks

Today 10 volunteers started the task of laying the hedge that is the boundary between the site and Corn Mill Lane. The terrain was difficult as the hedge is at the bottom of a steep slope and the fence prevented tackling the hedge from the flat side. However good progress was made and all volunteers had the opportunity to learn how to cut the pleachers, which act as a hinge, using billhooks and bowsaws.  We made stakes from timber cut at Boar's Well and the UNR and sharpened them to a point with a bill hook.

We will continue this task next week.

Friday 4th December 2009: Brackenhill Urban Landscape Area, Westcroft Road, Great Horton

Making the pleachersMaking the pleachers

 Today we had the chance to learn and practice the traditional craft of hedgelaying. We continued on from the section of hawthorn hedge we had started to cut earlier in the year. First we cleared the lower branches and the vegetation of the trees. We then learnt how to make a pleacher and next how to construct the hedge using stakes. The completed hedge should provide a stock proof barrier which was not crutial at this hedge but learning the technique is and how to create the increasingly rare habitat and wildlife corridor. At the end of the day we had completed about 30 yards which was a great achievement and final result looked very good.

Today we worked with 16 volunteers

Click here for other photos of the day 

Friday 16th April 2010: Brackenhill ULA, Westcroft Road, Great Horton, BD7

Volunteers from Everything is Possible doing a great job to collect litter on siteVolunteers from Everything is Possible doing a great job to collect litter on site

Today we had three jobs to carry out on the site. The fence at the bottom of Greenfiled Lane required repair. This occupied several of the group and at the end looked good. Another group set about maintenance on Greenfield Lane, which imvolved repairs to the wall, collecting litter and removing vegetation. The other volunteers went to clear litter and fly tipping from the site. In total 12 bags were collected from the site. There was unfortunate news, the bridge that was installed last summer was found in the stream.

Today we worked with 11 volunteers.

Click here for other photos of the site.