The Earth is moving around Feniton!

Flood alleviation scheme

Colin Gibbins after maize planted along the route of the flood scheme was harvested early.

Phase 1 of the flood alleviation scheme is now underway with a channel being constructed at the bottom of Camp Field. The ditch will provide considerable security for Metcombe and Sweethams Cottage which have been blighted by numerous flood events in recent years. The cob walls of these delightful cottages act like a sponge and, following a flood, take months to try out.

Photos courtesy of Chris Gibbins and Gill Ewings (Thank you!)

Phase 1 of the scheme will see the completion of the channel, and protection measures for Iron Gate Cottage and the properties south of Patteson’s Cross. Subsequent phases involve installation of lagoons in the field behind Mount View, pipework along the boundary between Winchester Park and Louvigny Close, down Warwick Close, across Green Lane, through the corner of the field in Beechwood Farm, under the railway, across Long Park orchard and across the paddock at Metcombe. The design process has been lengthy and arduous, and even involved the intervention of Neil Parish MP.

The scheme required planning approval … an application which was approved unanimously by Development Management Committee at EDDC.

Relocation of the cricket pitch

Avid readers of the Midweek Herald will have seen a spectacular spread heralding the relocation of the cricket pitch from its current site behind the primary school to the top of the site. Residents of Acland Park, who berated me on the doorstep during the election campaign, will be delighted that their houses will now be safe from the hailstones of cricket balls which they suffer during the summer.

Unusually, the agreement between the developer and the Playing Fields Trust was not formalised as part of the planning application, but appears to have been a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between the two for their mutual benefit.

This is a risky move, albeit that it seems to have paid off in this instance. Many will remember that a similar agreement was made in the 1990s when the current Acland Park houses were built that the two tennis courts would be reinstated.

The agreement collapsed, however, when the developer realised that the expected profits were not going to be realised, and as this was a private arrangement, there was no mechanism to force the developer to comply. This resulted in the loss of the tennis club … a much treasured village facility.

An interesting quote in the Midweek Herald article from a representative of the Playing Fields Trust implies that the playing fields are a community facility rather than a private sports facility:

“It’s good to know that the future of cricket in Feniton will be secured for generations to come, when the ground is owned by the community.”

This means therefore that they are available for everyone to enjoy.

Once the cricket pitch is finally installed and in use after the 2016 season, the current pitch will be a much needed green open space in the middle of the village … let’s call it the ‘Green Lung’ of the village.