Non-motoring > One man's meat etc... Miscellaneous
Thread Author: R.P. Replies: 15
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New Sun 24 Apr 11 20:57 
 One man's meat etc... - R.P.
We've been burdened with a number of trees that have preservation orders around our new home, as well as between 1/4 and 1/2 an acre which has a covenant attached forcing us to keep it as "meadowland" but the pay-off is an abundance of wild-life - we are at the edge of a village (between "them"and the BT exchange !) consequently we have been entertained by the diversity of wild life - the pheasant that pops into the meadow had my trigger finger itch as well as the Spaniel's blood coursing, the duet of woodpeckers - one of whom was sighted at work on a nearby protected tree this afternoon - resplendent in his red and green jacket....and also a crow doing CAPs and dogfighting with as yet an unidentified Raptor....not to mention the numbers of butterflies and moths that abound here....I love it.
Last edited by: Pugugly on Sun 24 Apr 11 at 21:00
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New Sun 24 Apr 11 21:05 
 One man's meat etc... - Iffy
A covenant attached, eh?

You keep away from those nuns. :)

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New Mon 25 Apr 11 00:20 
 One man's meat etc... - Londoner
Sounds like absolute bliss, PU.
I'd love to be able to retire to a place like that.
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New Mon 25 Apr 11 09:04 
 One man's meat etc... - Fenlander
Interesting... sounds much like our plot but we've never had any occasion for *authority* to take an interest in what we do with it. However as it sits out to the side of the house we have kept all the grass, planting and fencing of an agricultural/meadow style to avoid any change of use questions.

With our possible move in prospect we'd looked at a pair of cottages in an old garden that need making into one 4-bed home. Because the owner has taken the orchard away to build a new house the old trees have come to the attention of planners and orders slapped on most of them... including a lleylandi for goodness sake. The regulations surrounding what you can/can't do with the trees is very strict.

I wonder how you will keep this land maintained as meadowland... is it defined in the covenant?
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New Mon 25 Apr 11 09:10 
 One man's meat etc... - R.P.
No it's not - next door have sown their "meadow" with grass seed and although they slapped her a wrist-slapping for erecting a small shed (asking for planning permission) they've not mentioned the grassed meadow (maybe they heard the song about mowing one) - we will then need a ride-on mower (!) to look after it. Plan is to plant trees and the such like thereafter..........
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New Mon 25 Apr 11 09:13 
 One man's meat etc... - Iffy
Make sure it's unattractive to travellers.

Word might get around that you are a new landowner and ripe to be taken advantage of.

Unless of course you are keen to provide a home for fellow citizens with a less conventional lifestyle than your own.
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New Mon 25 Apr 11 09:20 
 One man's meat etc... - Zero
Do you get itinerate tarmac layers on the island?
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New Mon 25 Apr 11 09:19 
 One man's meat etc... - Fenlander
Is it bare land you have to seed at the moment or do you already have your meadow grass?
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New Mon 25 Apr 11 09:30 
 One man's meat etc... - R.P.
Nah - it's basically scrubland at the moment - plan is to re-seed soon. It has no access to vehicles although a purpose built ramp to accommodate a ride on mower has been provided - coincidentally the English translation of the original farm name is Tinker or Gipsy's Field.....as it's an ancient Welsh (possibly pre-Saxon) name it could and more likely mean Gold Worker's Field.

One of the long-term thoughts is geo-thermal heating is a serious consideration here given the size of the plot......

Another issue as the house is a new-build it has an exceptionally high EPC and is south/west facing so it is exceptionally warm at the moment and slow to cool down which is good in winter bad in the current warm spell.
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New Mon 25 Apr 11 09:31 
 One man's meat etc... - Bellboy
Seeing as there is a covenant attached be aware that the witchfinder general may pass at some time
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New Mon 25 Apr 11 09:34 
 One man's meat etc... - R.P.
He's already been here and already issued a couple of lectures to next door on her gateway and shed resulting in a couple of retrospective planning applications....Anglesey and planning are two words which have a lot of baggage around here.
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New Tue 26 Apr 11 09:24 
 One man's meat etc... - Fenlander
Think hard about the seed mixture you use. If a contractor is doing it make sure you see the seed in a sealed bag with its makeup label... they have a habit of using seed left over from a previous job. You want something completely different to the mix they'd use for grazing or haymaking, lawns etc.

On our area we used what was called a set-aside type mix back 15yrs ago. This has a mix of slower growing meadow type grasses for low maintenance plus quite a bit of clover as I like to see that.

These people supply seed by mail order and they are spot on with advice if you phone and explain your needs.

www.cotswoldseeds.com/

Something like this mix might suit you...

www.cotswoldseeds.com/product/species-rich-parkland-grassland-low-maintenance


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New Tue 26 Apr 11 09:40 
 One man's meat etc... - Cliff Pope
Who is the covenant with? Only the other party can enforce it, so it is not necessarily anything to do with Planning anyway.
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New Tue 26 Apr 11 09:43 
 One man's meat etc... - Fenlander
>>>Who is the covenant with?

That crossed my mind. Usually covenants go back into medium/long term history and it's quite rare to be faced with the holder walking past to see that you're complying.
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New Tue 26 Apr 11 10:23 
 One man's meat etc... - Fenlander
Another mix comes to mind if you'd like some wild flowers...

www.cotswoldseeds.com/product/nectar-meadow
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New Tue 26 Apr 11 13:29 
 One man's meat etc... - Mapmaker
Make sure you're not tempted to fertilize it; that would cause dull varieties of grass to blossom at the expense of more interesting ones. Aim for a dozen or more different species of grass if you can.

Talk to your local FWAG office www.fwag.org.uk and see if they can make a recommendation; getting local species (that work with your soil type) rather than a generic mix must be worth it.

(How much land do you have?)
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