The Meadows and Boundaries
Meadow:- There are several options available for the meadow. After the plant surveys were started in 2000, it was realised that a mixed cutting pattern would probably give the maximum benefit to plants and other wildlife.
A late June, early July cut has been adopted for the middle of the site, including the orchard. This should benefit Spring flowering plants. The small bay between the blackthorn spurs of the eastern hedge has been planted with cowslips, so an annual September cut has been adopted.
The remaining 'wet' area of the meadow has been divided into two sections and will be cut alternately in September. This should encourage biennial plants such as teasel, which goldfinches love, and also leave tall vegetation over Winter as shelter for small mammals.
It should be stressed that these plans are not set in stone. Weather conditions may well suggest multiple cuts in some years for parts of the site and a certain amount of flexibility is essential.
Boundaries:- The eastern hedge of cherry plum, blackthorn and hawthorn with two Lombardy poplars and an ash, is the most dense. It is the preferred habitat for breeding blackbird, dunnock, wren and blackcap. It is also used throughout the year by flocks of greenfinch, goldfinch, long tailed tits as well as blue tit and great tit. Management of this hedge will be minimal. At the moment the blackthorn has formed two spurs pushing into Sudbury Meadow, leaving a sheltered bay between. This will be maintained and the blackthorn encouraged to come further into the meadow. Limited coppicing of the blackthorn could help retain a mixture of heights and prevent the shrub from taking over the meadow. More research is required to establish the most appropriate management for this hedgerow.
The northern hedge is very gappy. The individual trees and shrubs have been allowed to grow unchecked for many years and have also become infested with ivy. Although the latter is a good wildlife plant, it does tend to smother shrubs in time. A drainage ditch for Crosshall Road also runs along this boundary. A survey of the hedge suggested that some of it could be laid. However, a number of the hawthorns and maples have wonderful gnarled trunks which are a feature of the hedgerow. Therefore, it was decided to retain the existing hedge in its current form and to plant a new hedge within the meadow. The latter was planted in March 2002. This will be laid once it is mature enough. Any of the original shrubs which are suitable, will then be coppiced. The result should be a double thickness of hedge which will form a shelterbelt from the north winds and a much better habitat for birds and mammals. This plan should also benefit the cuckoo pint which grows in abundance along the ditch.
The final hedgerow is along Crosshall Road. This had become very scrappy and overgrown with ivy at its southern end. There were also ten Lombardy poplars trees, planted during the 1960s. All but one of these had been pollarded in the early 1970s. A health check was felt to be essential on these trees, due to the proximity of the main road and houses opposite, and the fact that a similar tree by St Neots River Bridge had shed a large branch across the main road within the previous two years. Following tests, six were felled and four reduced in height, in March 2002. A new boundary fence was erected within the meadow and a new, mixed species hedgerow planted alongside, in December 2002.
Over the coming years, the old hedge will be kept trimmed back, to allow future tree surgery on the poplars. Regularly cut grass will be established between the new fence and Crosshall Road footpath, which will give pedestrians the option to walk away from the busy road and have a better view of Sudbury Meadow.
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