A v warm welcome to you all to our AGM
and as we celebrate 30 years as an Association! Quite an awe-inspiring thought and v humbling to think back to events which led to the Association being set up quite a while before that. It all started in 1980 (imagine me, if you can, as a v young and inexperienced borough councillor…!) with an illicit second hand car trader setting up business at the front of what is now the Wildlife Area and a prime location next to the busy Bagshot Road. It took a Stop Notice from GBC and 2 years of planning appeals ending up in the High Court to end that part of the saga and then many years of planning applications for totally unsuitable uses before the Borough Council decided that enough was enough and a CPO was declared. Local residents led by our much loved Roy Johnson and Dick Crompton then approached me to see if there was any chance of a wildlife area being started – the beginning of a new and exciting era! It was also a much more secure backdrop to the residents of Fox Corner who had endured many years of planning uncertainty at its heart.
So let’s raise our glasses and drink a toast to the Fox Corner Community Wildlife Area – long may it continue at the heart of this special community!
It is a particular delight to have John here tonight as one of the v few remaining founding members of the Association from the early days when he represented Merrist Wood College, one of our significant neighbours. More from John Arnott later as our speaker!
It was a humbling experience as I prepared my report for 2021 to reflect on the missing AGMs and the reason for them. It has been the most challenging of times for every part of our society. The Management Cttee has had many months when we couldn’t meet in person but that hasn’t stopped our activity on site, led as ever by Nigel Emmerson and his team of volunteers from Network Rail. It has also been a delight to have acted as a vital place of peace for the many folk who needed to find a safe outside place to escape to. Needless to say, our visitor numbers increased significantly!
Alongside a long list of maintenance and improvement works led by Nigel Emmerson together with John Shawyer and Roy Coverly, we have also reviewed our site interpretation boards which had been showing the damage from exposure to the elements. Heather Coverly has once again used her organisational skills, plus the practical skills of Roy, to come up with a v cost effective solution in the replacement boards at both main entrances. We are now addressing the replacement interpretation board for the pond. Both models have been built to last a little longer.
What are the challenges for the future?
In addition to the ongoing battle with the voracious Himalyan Balsam which has slowly been taking over the wetland areas, we are reviewing our physical features - the spine path which, although still providing a firm base has gradually lost its edge and is losing the battle against encroaching weeds and our tree cover and management in areas where trees and shrubs have become more dense. On our recent Beating the Bounds, we have identified areas where we will aim to provide more long views across the site of from one feature to another. About 15 years ago, Mike Nevins, our then borough councillor and committee member, took a series of aerial photographs which show how the widlife area has changed almost out of recognition and we can see that we need to put tree management high on our list of priorities. We ignore it at our peril! We will also be continuing our yellow rattle experiment in the wildflower meadow and looking at updating our information boards.
Over the last 2 years, it has not been possible to use the valuable partnerships we had established with the Pirbright Institute or the Fox but we look forward to getting back into action this summer. As a v small charity trying to fight above its weight with 14 acres to manage, our small team of volunteers with limited financial resources really couldn’t achieve all we do without our partnerships. Our main and constant partnership continues to be with Network Rail, a small trusty band of Network Rail volunteers, led by Nigel Emmerson, which has done much good management and practical work on their charity days. This has thankfully been able to go ahead during much of the many covid restrictions. I would also like to particularly thank Nigel Emerson who quietly and v efficiently does a whole host of other jobs, often with John Shawyer and Roy Coverly alongside. Thank you Nigel, John and Roy.
On a much smaller scale and when covid restrictions have allowed, we have been pleased to welcome the contribution of local scout groups who seem to enjoy the challenge of pulling Himalayan Balsam! The more the merrier! And we currently have v useful DofE students so every little helps…
So what are the challenges for the future?
In addition to the ongoing battle with the voracious Himalayan Balsam which has slowly been taking over the wetland areas, we continue to review our physical features – the spine path which, although still providing a firm base has gradually lost its edge and is losing the battle against encroaching weeds and our tree cover and management in areas where trees and shrubs have become more dense. On our recent Beating the Bounds, it was pleasing to see areas where we have been able to create more open spaces and views across from one part to another. Particularly good work has been carried around the now-not-so-new Winter Bridge.
We are always on the lookout for the wildlife which visit the wildlife The Management Committee would like to encourage all our members to join our “Wildlife Watch” to tell us what you have spotted on your visits. Email us via the website – foxcornerwildlife.org.uk or tell a committee member.
I end by expressing my heartfelt thanks to the wonderful and hardworking members of the Management Committee. STAND UP In addition we also still enjoy the skills of Carolyn and Chris Guest who look after our website from Dorset. This great enthusiasm and teamwork continues to make your community wildlife area a delightful place to visit and an asset on your doorstep.
And finally a very big thank you is also due to all our members who are so supportive in their v generous donations and v supportive comments which all help to encourage us and keep us going - for no less than 30 years! Long may it continue!
Catherine Cobley
April 2022