| Date |
| Work days |
Other events |
News Items |
|
|
13/12/2009 |
WORK DAY. Crane Park Island. Our annual visit to manage the willows.
Meet at the Crane Park Shot Tower 10.30. |
21/11/2009
 |
FELTHAM MARSHALLING YARDS.
The There has been a major failure of the rail bridge over the River
Crane at Feltham Marshalling Yards which is causing massive travel
problems on the mainline routes
between Twickenham and both Windsor and Reading. This photo is courtesy of the Feltham Chronicle.
Feltham Marshalling Yards was already the focus of considerable
attention for FORCE. We have included the site as part of the
proposed Crane Valley Park and it is recognised as a large high value
environmental area, not least by its designation as a site of London
wide importance for nature conservation. However BAA, as part of their
Airtrack proposals for a new rail link to Heathrow, are now proposing
to develop much of the
existing site for a new rail servicing yards.
FORCE has already responded to the BAA proposals. We are currently developing our strategy for the public inquiry on the project, anticipated for the summer of 2010. |
|
08/11/2009 |
WORK DAY.
Crane Park at Mill Road. The hedge planting efforts continued, with the
existing hedge extended in the direction of Meadway. Pathways were
topped up with woodchips. |
|
21/10/2009 |
AGM.
The Annual General Meeting of FORCE was held at All Hallows
Church. The AGM was well-attended and followed by a talk by local art
historian David Allan about various aspects of history and art of the Crane Valley. A copy of the Chair's Report is available. |
|
12/10/2009 |
|
EDF WORKS.
Kneller Gardens is a mess this month, with temporary tracks, an access
pit under construction and the removal of various trees. FORCE has been
working with the council to mitigate the impact of this work, which
relates to the laying of underground power cables. More disruption can
be expected in Kneller Gardens, Mereway and Crane Park in the months to
come. FORCE hope that with the goodwill of EDF, damage will be
temporary and minor. We also hope that some longer term improvements
may result from the restoration work. |
|
|
11/10/2009 |
 |
WORK DAY.
Twickenham Rifle Club and Craneford Fields. With the help of local
brownies and a community payback team the area was litter-picked, some
hedgerows were tidied, some planting on the Craneford fild margins was
undertaken and a dead hedge constructed behind the Woodpecker Bench.
Thanks to everyone who braved the drizzle and gave their time. |
 |
|
|
07/10/2009 |
KNELLER GARDENS PAVILION.
Works to renovate and re-open the pavilion in Kneller Gardens have
started. It is due to open, complete with new changing rooms, park
keeper's office, toilets and cafe, in the next few months, This will be
a major improvement, providing the first such facilities in the Crane
Valley for many years. Friends of Kneller Gardens, supported by FORCE,
have been working closely with the council on this council-funded
project. |
07/10/2009
 |
CRANE CYCLE ROUTE.
Work has started on improvements to the cycling infrastructure along
the Crane with the installation of a new bridge across the Duke of
Northumberland's River in Kneller Gardens. The bridge should be open
for use in the next few weeks. There will be more work to review and
impact of this route and resolve concerns regarding how cyclists
interact with pedestrians and others over the next few months.
The next phase of this project will see a new raised table across
Meadway, making this crossing safer for cyclists and pedestrians. FORCE
has played an advisory role in this project, working with John Dore
from the council. The project is funded by Transport for London.
FORCE will be replanting parts of Mereway Nature Park that were
disturbed during the installation of the new bridge. This work will
commence in the new year. |
|
06/10/2009 |
Response to Heathrow Airtrack Transport and Works Act Order Application. |
|
22/09/2009 |
INFORMATION EVENING. An Information Evening was held in York House to present the findings of
the Crane Valley Park Feasibility Study. |
13/09/2009
|
Seventh Crane Valley Open Day.
The
annual family open day was another major success, with a very busy dog
show followed by a wide range of activities on Craneford Fields. We
were honoured by the presence of both the Mayor of Richmond and the
Mayor of Hounslow, both of whom appeared to thoroughly enjoy the
afternoon. For those of you who tried to "guess the weight of the
beetroot" (and there are few challenges greater than that in life) the
answer was 2348g (5lb 6oz), with the winner only 12g out!
The Crane Valley Open Day 2009 gallery has some images from the event.
|
 |
CRANE VALLEY PARK FEASIBILITY STUDY. The Feasibility
Study for Crane
Valley Park has been completed. This report has been produced by a steering
group chaired by FORCE and with representation from Richmond and Hounslow
Councils as well as London Wildlife Trust. The report explores the feasibility
of expanding Crane
Park to create a new park
of around three times the current size (see map), extending along the River Crane to link
Twickenham station with Hounslow Heath. The report concludes that this park can
be created over the next three to five years, with the help of £400,000 funding
received from the London Mayor’s priority parks competition. The steering group
will stay in place to implement the project, with Hounslow Councillor Linda
Nakamura as Chair. The priority parks project will be one of a number of
projects managed by this group in order to create and manage this new park.
FORCE welcomes comments and
suggestions regarding the proposals in the report. An executive summary is also
provided. It is hoped that the detailed maps will be put on line in the near
future. FORCE plans to hold meetings in September in both Hounslow and
Richmond
boroughs to present the findings |
|
07/07/2009 |
|
OUTDOOR EDUCATION WORKSHOP: FORCE has received grants from the Ernest
Cook Trust and the Naturesave Trust to develop educational resources to support
local schools wishing to use Mereway Nature Park to support curriculum learning
. To launch this project we held a workshop for teachers run by Sarah Cathcart
of the Royal Horticultural Society, the Principal Schools and Family Learning
Officer . The workshop was held at Mereway Nature Park in association with Joe
Pecorelli from Richmond Environment Network's Schools Environment Forum.
|
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|
17/06/2009 |
TWICKENHAM SOCIETY TALK. Rob Gray discussed FORCE plans for the Crane Valley in the Twickenham Club on Church Street. |
|
25/05/2009 |
|
FORCE attended
Twickenham May Fair on the Green. It was a very successful event and the rain
which normally falls on this day held off. We had many visitors to the tent
with lots of interest in our activities and, in particular, our plans for Crane
valley park over the next few years.
|
 |
|
|
10/05/2009 |
WORK DAY.
Crane Park at Butts Farm. Significant amounts of rubbish were removed
from the area, along with the help of local residents. Susan Honey from
the Richmond Housing Partnership described the day as a "real success"
and was keen that the exercise be repeated in the future.
|
03/05/2009
 |
 |
SPRINGTIME SAFARI. FORCE had a stand at the Springtime Safari at Orleans House.
This year's theme on the FORCE stand was dragonflies. All visiting
children were able to see fragonfly larvae and make their own dragonfly
fridge magnet. This free fun day out with activities
for all the family (storytime, crafts, wildlife hunting and much more)
was the biggest and busiest safari event held thus far. Don't miss it
in 2010! |
|
|
19/04/2009 |
WORK DAY.
Crane Park at Mill Road.
Path maintenance, litter
picking and a beetle loggery were constructed. A series of fruit trees
were also planted in this section of Crane Park, including apples,
pears, plums and cherries. |
08/03/2009
 |
| WORK DAY. Crane Park at Hospital Bridge Road. We
finished putting in all the new hedging, with 1700 plants over two
Sundays covering 2/3 of the length between Meadway and Hospital Bridge
Road. It is now late in the season to put any more in, so we will hold
back the funding for next year. Even the pouring rain did not put off
the eager volunteers! |
 |
|
04/03/2009
 |
SUCCESS!! CRANE VALLEY PARK WINS £400,000 funding
FORCE are delighted to announce that Crane Valley Park is one of the
winners of the Mayor’s Priority Parks programme. We are very grateful to everyone who voted
for Crane Valley Park
– the response from local
people, and particularly local schoolchildren, has been
terrific.
In fact we polled 6677 votes
which was the highest score for any of the parks across the whole of London. So
a huge thank you goes out to all our members and their friends and
families.
The award was formally announced to the press, radio
and television by Boris Johnson in Crane Park who said that it was for "new park benches, new pathways, new nature reserves, heaven knows what..."
The work now begins in
earnest to ensure that the award of £400,000 results in a larger and better park
for all the local communities in Richmond and Hounslow”.
Learn more information about the project |
|
22/02/2009 |
 |
FORCE
have put up new bird and bat boxes in time for the breeding
season. A number of these boxes have been fitted along the horse
chestnut avenue next to the depot. Existing boxes were also
cleaned out. Blue and Great Tits had made good use of boxes near Marsh
Farm Lane. We were also thrilled that House Sparrows had used the
"sparrow terrace" on the Rifle Club, making a welcome return there
after an absence of several years. |
 |
|
|
15/02/2009 |
Response to Airtrack Proposals (December 2008) |
|
10/02/2009 |
| FORCE
is delighted to announce the safe arrival of the latest carved bench
for the Crane Valley. The bench features a Kingfisher and several
local fish, and is located at Hospital Bridge Road, overlooking
the new reed bed. |
 |
 |
This is a well known hotspot for fishing, both human
and avian! We hope you will enjoy it. As with the previous two benches,
it was expertly carved by Paul Sivell. |
|
08/02/2009 |
 |
WORK DAY. Crane
Park at Hospital Bridge Road. An incredible 150m of hedging was put in
by our volunteers, making an excellent start to the project to place a
hedge all the way along the metal fence line. Well done everyone. |
 |
|
|
11/01/2009 |
 |
WORK DAY.
Mereway Nature Park and Kneller Gardens. Annual maintenance tasks were
conducted such as strimming meadows and woodchipping of paths. |
 |
|
|
14/12/2008 |
WORK DAY.
Crane Park Island. Our annual visit to the Island to manage the
willows. |
|
09/11/2008 |
 |
WORK DAY.
Work was started on a kingfisher bank at Twickenham Rifle Club. This
bank will provide nesting habitat for kingfishers along the concrete
banks of the lower River Crane, where there are currently no natural
banks for these birds to burrow into. |
 |
|
|
24/09/2008 |
AGM.
The Annual General Meeting of FORCE was held at All Hallows
Church from 7.00pm. The AGM was followed by refreshments and a talk by Dr Anne Todd of
London Wildlife Trust on her recent work as a historian of the River
Crane Corridor. Read the Chair's AGM report. |
07/09/2008
|
Sixth Crane Valley Open Day - 7th September 2008
FORCE and Friends of Kneller Gardens organised
another successful open day with highlights including a dog show,
herbal walks, food tasting. story telling, face painting, childdrens'
activities, shooting practice at the Rifle Club, allotment produce
exhibits and of course the beer tent, offering the locally-brewed Crane
Sundancer from Twickenham Fine Ales. The event was well attended by members of the local community.
For more images, see the Crane Valley Open Day Sep08 gallery.
|
|
07/08/2008 |
Response to Mogden Sewage Treatment Works Planning Application 00768/H/P24. |
|
07/08/2008 |
Response to Richmond College's Draft Planning Brief (May 2008) |
|
13/07/2008 |
 |
WORK DAY.
Completing work conducted on the June work day, including painting of
the DNR tunnel under the railway, next to Mereway Nature Park and
finishing the parking deterrents along the verges of Mereway Nature
Park. |
 |
|
|
01/07/2008 |
| MAMMAL SURVEY.
Alison Fure has just completed a survey for mammals on the Rifle
Club and Mereway. Healthy populations of Wood Mice were found at both
sites but by far the most exciting record was of Leisler's Bat, recorded each night over the Rifle Club. This nationally rare species of bat is a very exciting find. |
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