East Leake
MEADOW PARK. Last month (November) was a busy one for volunteers working in East Leake’s Meadow Park.
Bluebells and snowdrops ordered in October were planted in the sculpture border and wild daffodils next to the two new seats in Playfield; nest boxes were surveyed and repaired with some new ones being fitted and there was a hedge laying working party in Playfield.
“We plan to extend the hedge in this area, but this will take time as we are working in small groups and rely on volunteers with the relevant skills and available time.
“The actual area volunteers work on in the park excludes Lagoon Field which is the responsibility of Rushcliffe Borough Council. They employ the company Streetwise Environmental to maintain this area as it is the balancing pond for the Gotham Road estate.
They carried out the flailing recently and clearly went beyond their remit and flayed areas outside the boundary of the lagoon itself and the edges of paths nearby.
Some long grass areas have been cut to the west of the lagoon which had been deliberately left from creatures to over-winter in, especially small mammals.
This had also led to the crushing and destruction of quite a few Meadow Ant ‘hills’ which are becoming increasingly uncommon in the wider countryside.
“We have a representative for Rushcliffe Borough Council on our committee and he has raised this with the RBC’s Streetwise Contracts Manager and the councils Design and Landscape Officer (who has responsibility for the site) and will be seeking assurance that the area outside the lagoon will not be cut again.
The area outside the lagoon is included in the Service Level Agreement between East Leake Parish Council and the Borough Council, but excludes the lagoon.
Streetwise are due to return to fell the establishing trees within the lagoon in due course - the timescale will depend on the weather.
“Another area of concern is the quality of the water in Kingstone Brook. A group of charities are working together to collate information and focus attention on the number of sewerage spills and the importance of clean waterways. The Rivers Trust has produced a map of England and Wales whereby you can search for information regarding the number of hours raw sewage has been allowed to flow into waterways.
In 2020 East Leake treatment works spilled (untreated water) for a staggering 29 days in total. Broken down this number shows untreated water was released into the brook 58 times for a total of 715 hours.
If you are interested in the scale of the problem or other specific areas of the country the relevant website to visit is: https://www.theriverstrust.org/ key-issues/sewage-in-rivers
The Rivers Trust is a group of conservation experts with a wealth of data and expertise who want all life to thrive in and around our rivers. Whether you enjoy fishing, swimming or a riverside stroll, our rivers need this sort of expertise and care to recover and revive.
An expert survey of all our waterways shows a very bleak picture:
The Friends Thursday strollers are enjoying walking in the park followed by a cup of tea or coffee. They meet at 1.30 pm by the Mill Stone sculpture. Everyone welcome, just come along.
EAST LEAKE WI. During the run up to Christmas East Leake WI members enjoyed a range of events and activities until the, now familiar, escalation of Covid safety measures made it necessary to cancel our Monthly Meeting on December 14.
Happily, our earlier events and activities had all gone ahead as planned making it a busy and sociable time. A very pleasant walk around Rushcliffe Country Park followed by tea and delicious cakes at Cherry Lane Garden Centre was followed the next day by a Curry Evening at Heat in East Leake where good food and a lively atmosphere was appreciated by all attending.
The Coffee and Craft afternoon was well attended with members working on creative projects or just joining in the friendly chat over refreshments.
The Christmas Festivities included the much anticipated annual Christmas Lunch at the Plough in Normanton on Soar where Santa hats were the order of the day along with tasty food and plenty of Christmas spirit.
We then joined WIs from neighbouring villages who make up the Soar Valley WI Group for a Christmas Service at St Helena’s Church in West Leake with representatives of each WI contributing with readings and poems.
This chance to enjoy singing traditional Carols and good company was relished by members as well as the delicious mince pies and hot drinks afterwards.
Members look forward to a happy and healthy 2022 with a full calendar planned starting with our first monthly meeting of the year on Tuesday January 11 at 7.30pm in East Leake Village Hall when we will be joined by Phil from Elms Farm Butchery – so why not make it your New Year’s resolution to join us!
New to the village or been here a while? - why not come along as a visitor ( £4.00 to include refreshments and a Raffle Ticket) and enjoy a pleasant evening, join in and find out more about us, we offer a warm welcome to a range of events and activities with fun and friendship.
For more information please contact Carolyn Barnett, Membership Secretary on 01509 853440.
COMMUNITY GROUP: There was cheery start for the Christmas period for youngsters and parents alike thanks to the East Leake Community Group who organised a large scale and successful welcome to the Christmas period by arranging for Santa and his team of elves to do the rounds of the estates off Gotham road, giving greetings to those who ventured out from their houses and give a welcome to their seasonal visitors.
The festive event was, in the words its leader, organised to bring some cheer to the local children and was a repeat of the similar event eld last year.
The tour pulled in the area more common ly known in past year as ‘tin town’ with it starting on Sharpley Drive and taking in Falcon Way, Lantern Lane, Saint Mary’s Cresent, Elm Avenue, Sweet Leys, Holme Avenue, The Cresent, Osier Fields, Brookfields Way, Thistlebank, Northfields Way, Gotham Road, Angrave Road, and Roulstone Avenue, Stonebridge Drive, and Carlton Crescent.