The Council's Plans for Hicks Farm
Stewart Clark gave a very interesting talk on the Councils future plans for Hicks Farm (situated on the sharp bend on the corner of Throop Road/Broadway Lane and ajacent to the water works down the lane) at the recent Forum meeting (http://www.tmsthareaforum.info/index.html) Anne attended with some of our members and this is the edited highlights (apologies for any spelling mistakes)
Background
Hicks Farm comprises of a grade 2 listed farmhouse and outbuildings owned by BBC. It currently has a tenant farmer. The buildings are used for storage or stables. the holding comprises of around 50 hectaresof pasture or woodland in designated Green Belt, mainly in the flood plain. The land is mostly grazed by horses and ponies with some cattle. Some grass is taken for hay.
Aspiration
In 2007 the council got architects in to carry out a feasibility exercise for an education centre on the site with an emphasis on farming/food production with potentually a cafe and a farmshop. The dairy buildings would be left as a base for the countryside team. The cost for this would be around £2.5 million. The farmland would continue to be a quiet backwater due to limited available access by dogs and the public. There are plans to create more shallow ponds to encourage wading birds and other wildlife. It is hoped that there may be an observation hide built to view the birds and wildlife looking towards the river without wildlife disturbance.
Phase 1
This has already started using money from the Enviromental Stewardship Scheme, DEFRA and the Tree Council to pay for fencing and the purchasing/planting of the hedgerows. This will create natural wildlife corridors recreating where the original hedgerows existed prior to 1950s when they were removed. Phase 2 will see the farmhouse and outbuildings turned into the education centre etc.
Wildlife
There are nationally significent species found on this area such as Mousetail (a small wild plant) , curlews, stagbeetles, Brown hare, otters and Kingfisher.
Grazing
Dorset Urban Heath Partnership and Natural England are keen to encourage grazing on urban areas such as Hicks. This is an ideal opportunity to have breeding herds on Hicks Farm, Shetland Cattle are rare but hardy and do not need supplementary feeding and are already used in other grazing innetives in Bournemouth. Bournemouth Council already take a big lead in this grazing partnership and keen to extend this project further. It is also an excellent way of supplementing their income by seeling the rare breed cattle raised onto other councils keen to get involved.
The council is activly seeking funding to develop this idea and financing the hide and want the whole area designated a nature reserve to protect its unique flora and wildlife.
When this plan comes together (timescale unknown due to funding) the plan is to make the barn at Granby Road into a low key visitor centre with toilets and possible cafe. The proposal has been put forward to the funding mitigation pot but has been put on hold until the Green Infrastructure is in place but they are reasonably confident it will go ahead in the future.
The council assure all the local residents there will not be the new 'Moors Valley' appearing in Throop Road and it will not be open all the time to everyone visiting, just a small number of prebooked school children and groups. They are very keen not to change the character of this beautiful area just to maintain and inprove on a beautiful and special part of Bournemouth.
If you have further questions about these plans please email
We will keep you updated on these plans as they develop.