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Parish Pasture

Background

During the Engagement Strategy (public consultation) for the Neighbourhood Plan (see our 'Neighbourhood Plan' page) a major issue was that of approximately 9 acres of land which lies between the two unconnected ends of Broad Gores.  Approximately half of this was under agriculture at that time with the remainder being untended grassland.

Following discussions as part of the development of the Neighbourhood Plan it was agreed that Bassetlaw District Council would retain ownership of 3.6 acres with a view to selling for the building of 38 houses.   The remaining 5.4 acres was to be 'gifted' to the Parish Council as permanent Open Green Space.

When the Neighbourhood Plan was 'Made' by Referendum of all the residents of the Parish on 2 February 2017 the Parish Council was given a Licence to Occupy the land by the District Council.  This meant that the Parish Council could work the land in the way it wanted to before the final legal 'gifting' of the land.

It was not until 3 June 2023 that the contract for the 'gifting' of the land was signed by Councillors on behalf of the Parish Council.  However, the process is still to be completed!

The Vision

A decision by the Parish Council named the land - The Parish Pasture.  The Neighbourhood Plan had outlined a Vision for the Parish Pasture.  It was to have three main elements:

  • The main Open Green Space to be planted with wildflowers and numerous trees - approximately 4 acres;
  • Allotments for Parish residents - approximately 1 acre;
  • A Community Orchard - approximately 0.5 acre.

To achieve these ends a group of interested residents established the Friends of the Parish Pasture (FoPP) to develop the Open Green Space.  The Parish Council established an Allotment Association.   This was given the responsibility of organising the Allotments and allotment holders.  This was carried out under the terms of the Lease which the Parish Council gave to the Allotment Association.  The establishment of the Orchard was left in abeyance for when the main work was well under way.  The Mayflower Community Orchard was  started in 2021.

The Land

The Parish Pasture occupies what was the most recently farmed area of the 9 acres of the original land.  During the lengthy discussion with the owners, Bassetlaw District Council, the land became very overgrown with weeds.

A Plan

The 1 acre designated for the Allotments was rented to the Allotment Association in the Spring of 2018 for them to prepare and mark out 22 allotments. 

Following advice from a number of voluntary organisations and wildflower retailers the Open Green Space was found to be too high in nutrients to allow wildflowers to thrive. Meanwhile the whole of the Open Green Space was treated twice with a total weed killer. in March 2018 the top soil was removed from a total of about 1 acre of the land to form three 'scrapes'.  The formation of the 'scrape' removed much of the nutrient rich soil and the 'scapes' would be more wildflower friendly.  These were to be sown with wildflower seed.  In May 2018 the footpath was re-aligned and topped with bark chippings.

In September 2018 a 20% wildflower with 80% grass mix was sown by residents of the Parish, by hand, over the Open Green Space and proposed Orchard areas.

Tree Planting

November 2018 marked the Centenary of the end of The Great War and a Memorial Copse of five English Oak trees were planted at a ceremony of dedication of the copse.  Planting was carried out by 7 residents of the Parish ranging from an 8-year old Scout to an 83 year old lady.  This marked the beginning of the planting of 90 metres of new hedging and over 150 new trees.  The trees for the copse were gifted by the National Trust at Clumber Park, the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve at Edwinstowe (which gave us Oak saplings grown from Acorns of the Major Oak!) and the National Memorial Arboretum in Shropshire which gave us two Oak trees and two Hornbeam trees.

Tree planting continues as the Pasture is developed.  Some 200 native English trees have now been added to the natural growing Silver Birch and Ash trees already present.

Wildflower Plants

The Spring of 2019 saw the planting of over 800 snowdrop bulbs and many Primrose, Cowslip and Aconite plants.

In the Spring of 2022, these plantings gave a very good display of flowers, aiding early pollination for spring insects.

Wildflower seeding or planting continues as the Pasture is developed.  In July 2023 there were at least 40 different species of wildflowers growing on the Pasture.

Mayflower Community Orchard

In December 2021 work started on the planning for the development of the Orchard.  9 Apple trees and 4 Pear trees of different varieties were  were planted.  A further 9 Pear trees were planted before the end of the planing season in March.  More trees of a number of different fruits will be planted in due course.

A specially grown Apple variety - Pilgrim 400 - is to be planted in March 2022 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower in 1620. 

The name of the Orchard is an acknowledgement of the link between Clarborough and the Mayflower Pilgrims who sailed from Plymouth to America in 1620.  More about this will be shown on interpretation boards which will be installed in the Orchard in due course.

Volunteers

Most of the work carried out on the Parish Pasture, including the Orchard, is undertaken by volunteers.  This is the Friends of the Parish Pasture (FoPP) group. A local farmer carries out most of the heavier work on the Pasture.

If you wish to help with the development of this major asset in the Parish, please contact friendsofpp2018@gmail.com or through our 'Contact Us' page.