Ward Projects
As part of its on-going budget management approach, you may recall that OWPC consulted on the introduction of local budgets for each of our four wards from 1st April this year. At £2,000 per annum per ward, the sums involved are not large, but are designed to be responsive to the very local issues that occur quite literally on people’s doorsteps.
This money is intended to be used for one off projects in each ward that will address specific environmental issues that fall outside the routine maintenance carried out by Milton Keynes Council. It is not intended to address any short comings in the current levels of maintenance.
In order to determine which projects to undertake, all households in the parish have received leaflets asking residents for their views. These responses will then be collated and the most practical and popular issues selected. Each ward is at different stages in this processs. The tabs below highlight the status of the projects in each ward.
At the end of March, every household in Woughton Park was leafletted by OWPC about how to help keep our area wonderful. By the end of April, 32 suggestions had been collected and there was a lot of commonality in those ideas. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the appearance of Newport Road drew a lot of attention and also the newly-designated village green. Consequently, a site meeting was held with an MKC Landscape Officer and some interesting points emerged:
- MKC has instructed the removal of all the dead elms along Newport Road
- There will be no formal replanting as the hedgerow in our grid square is largely classified as ‘woodland’, which is expected to regenerate naturally;
- The self-set willows by the canal steps can be removed;
- The overgrown village green rose beds can be grubbed up and put to grass
- The village green footpaths have degenerated, but not sufficiently to trigger MKC Highways’ criteria for unplanned repairs (sufficient usable path remains).
Even more usefully, MKC Landscape shared its commitment, within reducing budgets, to encourage greater bio-diversity initiatives and would welcome proposals from us for more mixed planting and revised mowing schedules. To help OWPC to proceed further, therefore, a local Landscape Architect was commissioned to produce an outline plan of how the village green area as a whole could support a wider range of flora and fauna – maybe you even spotted Rebecca Hiorns in the undergrowth over the summer?! Her outline plan is available here and we would now welcome your feedback on any or all aspects it. If you have any comments please fill in the comments form below.
November 2020 update
Further discussions were held with neighbours in May about phasing these works and MKC were approached about possible changes to the mowing standard and rose bed maintenance. MKC has now given its permission for our Bio-diversity Plan to be implemented using its preferred contractor: SERCO. SERCO then provided a quotation for the work outlined in the Bio-diversity plan. Click here to view the quote.
At its meeting on 9th November OWPC agreed the allocation of the W. Park ward budget to support hedge management and tree canopy lifting works from Newport Road to the towpath hedge behind Castle Rose and Medland; the grubbing up and re-seeding of the two redundant rose beds; and the clearing of the bed behind the park bench.
