Thank you to the more than 50 of you who gave feedback earlier in the year regarding local water supply and abstraction issues from the Ivel. As a next step, the Strategic Masterplan will be submitted for public consultation at the end of October 2023. Once again, you will have chance to feedback and help shape the way forward.
You may already be aware that RevIvel is represented on the Baldock Community Forum which is acting as a sounding board/ feedback forum for the new development (Growing Baldock).
19th July there was a meeting focussing on Green and Blue Infrastructure based on a 122-page audit report commissioned by Urban&Civic (U&C), the master developer. As you can imagine, RevIvel had quite a few points to make at the meeting.
Ecological Emergency
RevIvel reminded the meeting that North Herts Council had declared an ecological emergency 13th July 2023, specifically underlining the need to stop the decline in biodiversity and encourage its recovery. This is additional to the climate emergency declared May 2019. RevIvel queried how the planning for the new development would be changing to take account of the acknowledged ecological emergency? U&C responded it is already very environmentally conscious. RevIvel pressed the point and looks forward to U&C outlining the new, additional measures which will be planned and implemented in response to the declaration e.g. swift towers? more joined up
corridors for wildlife? grey water systems?
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)
RevIvel is pleased that SuDS is being closely considered; SuDS are surface water management measures which mimic natural hydrological processes e.g. soakaways, water harvesting features. However RevIvel pointed out that natural/ existing soakaways may not work as well in future. The construction of new (impermeable) roads/ homes will test the capacity of the chalk to take larger volumes of water over a shorter period. Infiltration testing will be needed before finalising design of drainage system.
Is the development really an opportunity to improve flows in the Ivel?!
RevIvel challenged the statement that “sustainable water management and distribution…for Baldock…has the potential to recharge the aquifer and improve flows in the Ivel”. RevIvel’s response was that it is not credible that the local aquifer/ Ivel flows could benefit from an approximate doubling in the demand for water in Baldock/ Bygrave. RevIvel asked that it should be made clear that these efforts are to mitigate the impact of additional water demand requirements from the 3.3K new households. SuDS being one of the mitigation tools.
Some positive news
Citizen science recorders from e.g. the Herts invertebrate project, Herts flora group and Herts BNA branch, have found numerous rare species on the grassland between Clothall Common and the A505, where the excavated materials from the bypass were placed. This site appears to have become a mini-haven for biodiversity including some rare species such as the slow worms, lizard orchid, the sandrunner shieldbug, the downland chafer, a nationally rare spider and weevils. As well as flocks of meadow pipits. Thanks to the efforts of the volunteer recorders, in its planning to date, U&C has recognised that this ecologically important area should not just be left undisturbed, but enhanced further e.g. by providing a corridor for wildlife.
Further positive news is that trails to raise awareness of/ celebrate our local heritage and natural history are planned including “rediscovering” the long defunct paleo channel (from Clothall through Baldock).
