Work has started on the new allotment site at Sheringham - with willow windbreaks made in north Norfolk one of the first features to take shape.The woven fence around the perimeter is by specialists from Burnham Willow and will act as a windbreak for the allotments on the Weybourne Road until the natural hedging has been supplemented and had a chance to establish itself.
Work has started on the new allotment site at Sheringham - with willow windbreaks made in north Norfolk one of the first features to take shape.
The woven fence around the perimeter is by specialists from Burnham Willow and will act as a windbreak for the allotments on the Weybourne Road until the natural hedging has been supplemented and had a chance to establish itself.
The fencing will very slowly age and degrade as the years go by, leaving the natural hedging to carry on the windbreak work.
As an additional aid to protection from the prevailing winds, the Greenhouse Community Project team behind the scheme is also in the process of raising the height of some of the banks around the site.
Project founder Clive Hay-Smith said: 'Although a financially costly option, the use of woven willow enables us to avoid the use of unsightly plastic netting as well as providing a much-needed boost to a local craft under serious threat.'
Work will begin before Christmas on the construction of raised beds to facilitate access for children and the less able. On-site toilet toilets are planned for installation early in the New Year.
Contractors are also installing new entry points, access roads and parking areas at the site which will offer more than 200 plots for Sheringham people, accommodating all the plot holders from the former site as well as everyone on the lengthening waiting list.
Applications for plots are now being accepted by Sheringham Town Council at the council Offices on Church Street.
The allotment site is part of a land swap deal which sees the Greenhouse project also planning a supermarket and food academy, as a rival to Tesco's long-running scheme for a store on the Cromer Road.
North Norfolk District councillors are expected to debate both plans next month.
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