STELLING MINNIS COMMON
PROPOSED MANAGEMENT PLAN 2016
Home Page Managers of Stelling Minnis Common FOSM 2005 Management plan
Below is the article which appears in the October issue of the Hardres and Stelling News relating to proposals for enclosures for grazing of Stelling Minnis Common, which will be presented to the community at a public meeting to be held on Friday 11th November at 7.30pm in Stelling Minnis Village Hall.
Stelling Minnis Common
Minnis Managers
At a meeting held earlier this evening the Managers,
Trustees and Agent for the Owners of the Stelling Minnis Common have decided on
a course of action that will allow continuation of the grazing plan after the
expiry of the existing time limited fencing.
Since the last public meeting all ideas have been
considered and researched. The
default position for the Common is open grazing.
The owners of rights to graze can graze the Minnis at anytime and
anywhere. If these rights are not
exercised then the owners of the Common may graze or give licence to graze the
Common so as to manage the area.
However it was agreed that some form of control of
grazing livestock is preferable. To
this end the Managers have looked into several alternatives which include
electric fencing and also time limited fencing.
The latter would require a new submission to the Secretary of State.
As part of the research, groups of Managers and
Trustees, along with William Trower, the representative of the owners and
Charlie Gooch, agent for the owners, has visited two commons which use
"invisible fencing" to manage livestock.
Both Epping Forest and Burnham Beeches use the system
very successfully. The latter Common
is very similar to our own, and the use of invisible fencing has been a
"complete success". The
meeting tonight agreed unanimously to adopt "invisible fencing" as the preferred
option for the future management of the Minnis.
Design is key to the success of the system. To put this
type of enclosure forward as a realistic option much time has already been spent
in developing a layout. The design is
not only for the safe containment of the animals, but also allowing access for
those who would prefer to keep away from the cattle.
Further meetings with those who already
use the system will be arranged to fine tune the design for our own Common.
There will be an open public meeting in Stelling
Minnis Village Hall on 11 November at 7.30pm where the proposed scheme will be
presented.
This will be an opportunity for anyone to ask questions about the
proposals.
It is a very exciting way forward for the Common which
very much satisfies the brief of the Minnis being a multiuse area within a
village. Cattle will continue
to graze in well defined and controlled areas, which recognise the original
purpose of the Common. It also
allows those who wish to take air and exercise either on foot or horseback
completely open access to all areas - no more muddy gateways, and no more
fencing.
Our contract with Natural England requires grazing in
the areas of the existing enclosures.
The new scheme will allow us to meet the requirements of this agreement.
DEFRA and Natural England are fully supportive of the plan.
There will be those who will have reservations about the
idea, but I urge everyone to give the plan a chance to prove itself.
Please come to the meeting and hear about the plans in more detail.
Other news- over 60 new dormouse boxes have been put out
on the Minnis. Once Peter Fry and
Derry Lowe have gone round installing the new boxes they will check all the
existing ones and monitor occupancy and activity.
It is evident from the successful rearing of 3 chicks by
the pair of kestrels that there is an abundance of small mammals on the Common.
The brood have now all left the nest but have been spotted several times, still
together, perched on rooftops looking healthy and quite clearly fending for
themselves.
FOSM
Work parties will start again soon.
The October dates are the 1st, 15th and 29th.
12 noon until 3pm. The
meeting point for the first meeting will be at Pony Cart Lane.
Please come along and help - many hands make light work!
Lastly, as autumn comes, and gardens require a good tidy
up with pruning and hedge trimming, please do not use the Minnis as a dumping
ground for garden waste. Use the
brown topped bins or take the rubbish to the tip.
John Haffenden - Chairman
John Haffenden
Chairman of the Managers of Stelling Minnis Common
E-mail:
wwilsonhaffenden@btinternet.com
September 2016
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