Update on hedgerow maintenance

You may notice the estate are doing a lot of work on hedges over the winter. This is part of a long-term scheme that will plant 10,000 metres of new hedges and rejuvenate old ones.

Hedge Laying

We are laying around 1200 metres of hedges in the next twelve months and plan to start in winter 2023/24.

Hedge laying is traditional way of rejuvenating and maintaining hedges. The base shoot of the hedges are partially cut through to allow the hedge to be layered over and upright stems then woven together, which when the plant grows it creates a thick hedge providing a dense habitat for wildlife, and the new shoots afford some degree of protection from predators.

The photo below shows a recently laid hedge, showing the bound top shoots.

Hedge Coppicing

Hedge coppicing is another traditional technique to manage hedges, usually used when a hedge is not suitable for laying.

It involves cutting the base completely at ground level, which encourages vigorous new shoots (like pruning roses in a garden). After a number of years of new growth this hedge can then be laid.

One risk of hedge coppicing is damage to the new shoots by deer, so we will lay some of the brash over the hedge stools to help deter them, which also provides habitat and shelter for nesting birds.

We plan to coppice 125 metres of old hedges in February/March 2024 and gap up another 125 metres of the same hedgerow.

The photo below shows a coppiced hedge after the first season’s growth.

Great British Beach Clean 2020

In September, the Trimley Estate team took part in the Great British Beach Clean and Survey which took place on the Trimley Shores. This was part of a national campaign to clean our shorelines and draw attention to the levels of plastic waste in particular. This year in Suffolk the GBBC undertook 13 total beach cleans with 85 volunteers, surveying 1400 metres of shoreline and collecting 31 bags of litter with an average of 325 litter items per 100m.

Across the country 3.1 tonnes of litter was collected from UK beaches with small plastic pieces (0-50cm) remain the most common pollution on UK shores – an average of 167.2 pieces of plastic and polystyrene were found per 100m of UK beach. Plastic pieces (0-50cm) were most common, followed by plastic and polystyrene caps and lids (19.7 per 100m), wet wipes (17.7 per 100m), cigarette stubs (16.2 per 100m) and string (15.8 per 100m).

It is a stark reminder to take your litter home with you or dispose of it correctly.

A big thank you to everyone that took part.

Uniserve Super DC construction underway

Work on the new Super Distribution Centre for Uniserve is now well underway. The project, being delivered land owned by Trinity College, is located alongside the A14 Port of Felixstowe Road at Clicketts Hill, Trimley St Mary. Once completed, the centre will see an 11.5-acre warehouse built on a 26-acre site capable of handling 100 lorries at once.

The building will include a bottling operation, general merchandise, clothing distribution and e-fulfilment alongside other flexible fulfilment uses.

Over 500 jobs will be created by the scheme, expected to open in 2021.

Walton South development completed

Work on the Walton Gate site at Walton, Felixstowe (formerly a part of the Trimley Estate and known as Walton South) has now been completed – delivering a range of 125 new starter and family homes for sale and 61 for affordable rent and shared ownership schemes. The affordable housing, managed by Sage Housing, will give a further line to those in need of good quality housing, or a step onto the housing ladder.

As well as one third of the scheme being dedicated to subsidised affordable housing, the development has made significant financial contributions to the local Community Infrastructure Levy and local schools, pre-schools and sports grounds to enhance capacity at existing facilities. It provides a new area of public open space with play equipment at the heart of the scheme and additional open land to the south of Walton Hall to respect the setting of the listed building.

During construction, the team at Barratt Homes employed local bricklayers, carpenters and roofers amongst the construction team, as well as giving the opportunity for on the job training for two apprentices working as a bricklayer and a carpenter.  The on-site carpenter won Barratt’s apprentice of the year award too. The site manager was also an award winner, collecting a Highly Commended, NHBC Health & Safety award and Pride in the Job award (given to the top 400 site managers in the UK).

Tim Collins of the Trimley Estate commented - We are proud to see the final completions at Walton Gate – which was identified for housing in the Felixstowe Area Action Plan in 2017 – to such a high standard. The new houses will provide fantastic new homes for those living and working in Felixstowe, including those that would normally be priced out of the area.

The last completion will be in September and the development will then be fully occupied. Whilst the lockdown restrictions earlier on in 2020 did cause a three month delay, the development was delivered on time and the construction team have helped deliver a new attractive development for residents to enjoy well into the future.

Work progresses quickly on new rifle ranges for Felixstowe Rifle Club

Contractors working for Trinity College Cambridge on the Trimley Estate have made good progress on the construction of new facilities for the Felixstowe Rifle Club as the below pictures show.  These will include a new club house, two outdoor ranges and two indoor ranges, plus associated parking, to replace their existing facilities on land north of the High Street in Walton.

Work starts on new rifle ranges for Felixstowe Rifle Club

Contractors working for Trinity College Cambridge on the Trimley Estate have started construction of new facilities for the Felixstowe Rifle Club.  These will include a new club house, two outdoor ranges and two indoor ranges, plus associated parking, to replace their existing facilities on land north of the High Street in Walton.

The new site located just off Nicholas Road in Trimley St Mary will provide facilities which will help to secure the future of the Rifle Club.  The existing club site will be developed as part of the wider Walton North proposals granted planning permission last year.

The new club facilities will include:
• one 50m and one 100-yard outdoor range for small bore rifles
• indoor range for air rifles
• indoor range for full bore rifles
• a combined club house and armoury
• associated parking

The existing air gun range, part funded by Sport England Lottery Fund, will be dismantled, and relocated on the new site.  New bunds will form the western northern and eastern boundaries of the two outdoor ranges, in addition to a bund which will separate the two to help mitigate noise.

The Felixstowe Rifle Club was formed around 1900 and originally used the army ranges at Landguard Common before being relocated to its current site after the Second World War, which was an old Home Guard range.  The club currently has about 150 members.

Tim Collins (pictured), on behalf of the Trimley Estate, said:
‘I’ve been working with the Felixstowe Rifle Club on these proposals for the past 15 years and so we are very please to finally start on building these great new facilities. They are a major step forward for a club that was founded 120 years ago this year.’

John Humphries (pictured), President of the Felixstowe Rifle Club said:
‘This will be a fantastic facility for our members, many of whom have gone on to compete nationally, as well as creating much more accessible facilities for the various groups and organisations that use the rifle range. We look forward to welcoming our members to the new ranges when they open in Spring next year.’

Anzani House Demolition

Maritime Transport Ltd, one of the UK’s largest container transport operators and a tenant of the Trinity Distribution Park, is demolishing Anzani House, the aging 1970s-built office block vacated by BT in 2008, to facilitate redevelopment of the site.

The seven-acre site will eventually become a distribution and container storage facility along with lorry parking, gatehouse and staff welfare facilities. The proposed development will provide a modern, flexible storage and distribution facility, supporting ongoing growth at the Port of Felixstowe.

The Trimley Estate website has been updated

The new website shows the range of activities that take place at the Trimley Estate where farming, the local port and commerce, housing, leisure pursuits and nature conservation thrive side by side.

The Trimley Estate is a major feature of the Felixstowe Peninsula and good management of its resources makes a major contribution to the local environment and economy.  We hope you enjoy the new website and sign up for our newsletter.