including Beech Bottom Dyke and Sandridge Road Wastes
A support arm on the over head beam for the main set of swings was broken last week (Tuesday 14th of July). Sadly, we are still awaiting news on repairs.
While we appreciate everyone enjoying the facilities, please do take care not to exceed weight limits and only use swings one-at-a-time!
The prolonged period of low rainfall has been obvious is the grass, which has been dying on the heath since the end of May. However, the parched conditions have now claimed a more substantial victim, a young cherry next to the cycle path on the upper heath.
The tree was planted several years ago, on top of the old air raid shelter. Despite the FOBH tree warden making the council workers aware of the problem, planting continued. The tree has exceeded expectations, until now. The attached photo clearly shows the parch marks of the old shelter in the ground, with the poor tree planted on top.
The local air ambulance landed on the upper field of Bernards Heath on the 13th of July to attend a collision on Harpenden Road.
Locals directed them to the scene, and Harpenden Road was closed in both directions. Sadly, it appears to have been a pedestrian vs car requiring the attendance of numerous emergency vehicles
Police are asking anyone with dash cam footage in the area at the time. The HertsAdvertiser reported: “PC Ryan Moore from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit, said: ‘Our enquiries are continuing, and I am urging anyone with information to please get in touch.’
“’Were you driving in the area at the time and saw what happened? Additionally, if you have a dash cam fitted and were in the area, please check it as you may have recorded some crucial footage to assist our investigation. If you also saw the orange Aygo prior to the collision, please get in touch.'”
If you do have any information, you can stay 100 per cent anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.
The Friends are happy to take questions about, and report incidents regarding, the heath, dyke and wastes to the council. Residents can now also report incidents directly to the council when logged ino the their account on the SADC website.
FoBH chair, David Pearce, noted that this is a useful tool as “local can check to see whether the incident has already been reported by someone else or to obtain an update”.
“It is happening at last! The playground is closed for work to begin on its refurbishment.
Click on an image and use > or < keys to navigate. Click X (top right) to exit.
The target of £100,000 is now just a whisker away, a fantastic effort by the whole community!
With the refurbishment underway, the new playground will be ready in January, well before the Spring deadline.
Let’s Play at Bernards Heath would like to thank all those who have donated to help make this dream a reality.”
Photos and text: DP
The play area will be closed from the 27th November for 5 – 6 weeks while a new play area is installed.
Our Tree Warden, Roger Miles, has spotted that this tree, one of the largest on the Upper Field, has suffered a large crack in its trunk. A branch has now fallen as shown below.
It is a Norway Maple, about half way along the tarmaced path.
The photos below show the original crack, several feet long. It is dangerous to go near the tree which has now been red/white taped off .
The break in the tree, seen from both sides, is shown below.
Two other trees on the Heath, a beech and a cherry have recently lost heavy branches, but in these cases the cause was rot in the in the point where the branch met the main trunk.
The dangerous nature of this tree has been brought to the attention of SADC and now only the stump remains. It was necessary to remove the remaining branch because of its hazardous state,
In the 1930s, St Albans Council erected a combined bus shelter and public toilets in the south corner of Heath Field. Sometime in the early 1980s, the building was demolished, leaving some laurel bushes which were common landscaping accompaniments to such facilities.
Continue reading “A sweet Smell of Success”
We have now been in ‘Lockdown’ since March 23rd and since then the Heath has been very much busier than normal. Sunny weather has encouraged walkers, joggers and cyclists (often with children) to take advantage of what the Heath offers – it’s just like a weekend every day. The recently installed interpretation boards are also getting attention. The bluebells in Beech Bottom Dyke are also worth seeing, especially at the end near the railway.
While it’s good to see the Heath playing its part in providing a distraction from worries about Covid 19 and its consequences, it’s also apparent that there is less careless litter than might be expected for high summer. O’Conner the maintenance contractors have generally done a good job in clearing bins and cutting grass. Sadly, John O’Conner, the founder of the company, died in March partly as a consequence of Covid 19 infection.