Volunteers continued digging out the embankment near the headwalls. Cleared two dumper loads of plastic sheeting which had been buried, and some buried railway line and vegetation – which was burnt in oil drums.
The digging out of the embankment almost finished, with levelling off and landscaping still to do. Volunteers worked to lay topsoil on the area along the flood plain extension.
Volunteers cleared the rubble and cut rail lines that had been recovered buried in the floodplain extension, for the area to be clear ready for the Waterways Recovery Group attendance.
Soil and brash continued to be moved pre-grassing using the FCC’s digger and dumper, in all about 50 tons of topsoil moved over two days. There was also some, Himalayan Balsam “bashing” undertaken.
Several volunteers completed the outfall for the flood alleviation scheme, using the digger and dumper. The pipes were installed and the side walls battered back. The pipes are now installed and the side walls battered back and profiled.
Stumps and brash have been moved with the digger and dumper, on the borrow pit, and the bank behind the welfare cabin was excavated out.
Several volunteers started profiling the banking behind the welfare cabin to lower the height and the angle of the banks to make it safer: the welfare cabin was moved slightly to allow the digger to get in to profile the bank where profiling the bank continued.
Three volunteers, using the digger and dumper started to remove the topsoil piled up near A610 bridge and putting it on the gully profiled banks, removing more waste material, metal rubble tarmac etc, old metal spring bed frame, old metal garage frame, (approximately 100 tons of material have been moved in total, and the old garage was subsequently disposed of).
Volunteers continued to profile the gully banks and sow grass seed, profiling the banks and the others pulled up Himalayan Balsam. A wasp’s nest was uncovered which led to the group moving to another section. Some very interesting large caterpillars were found.
Six volunteers have reached the River Erewash by pulling the Himalayan balsam out, it must be twenty-five metres from where they started and working on a width of ten metres it a tremendous achievement because – that is an awful lot of Himalayan Balsam!!. The other group were still tackling the topsoil removal from near the A610 bridge and laying it on the profiled banks. Grass seed has been put on the areas, but, with very little rain who knows what will appear