See below message. To try and allocate commuted sums available (some of which soon ‘expire’) to our pond improvement programme. Hopefully with the expert help of Alison Newsham “Deputy Honcho” from Harrogate Aquatic
Sent 31/03/2025
Sam Biddulph
Parks and Grounds Development Officer
North Yorkshire Council
PO Box 787
Harrogate
HG1 9RW
Dear Sam Biddulph (Cllr Robert Windass CCd in).
Subject: Request for Support and Reimbursement for Ferrensby Pond Enhancement Project
I hope this message finds you well. I am writing on behalf of the Ferrensby Parish Meeting to provide an update on our ongoing efforts to improve the environmental condition of Ferrensby Pond and to seek guidance on utilizing the commuted sums allocated for this project effectively + other less urgent commuted sums.
Our community project is primarily driven by local volunteers and very recently support from Alison at Harrogate Aquatic, who has recently been brought in to literally test the water and advise us on improving the pond’s ecological balance (for the very reasonable sum of £40, which her time and input far exceeded). We have already undertaken several significant initiatives, including dredging the pond, planting native wild-flowers and grasses around the perimeter, and introducing native pond plants. Despite these efforts, we have faced challenges with the pond plants struggling to establish, primarily due to unmanaged highway and field run-off impacting the pond’s water quality.
Our current objectives include:
Enhancing Water Quality: With Alison’s ongoing guidance, we are exploring solutions to improve the pond’s alkalinity and overall health. However, the unmanaged run-off remains a substantial concern that affects the pond’s ecosystem.
Community Engagement and Education: We aim to install educational sign-age around the pond to raise awareness about local wildlife and the importance of maintaining a healthy pond ecosystem. Also to encourage people to not feed the ducks in the pond (reducing water quality), but rather the verge. Also to expand wildflower verges around the village (I am also advising on a small wild-flower verge in Arkendale)
Request for Support: We would appreciate any advice or support from the council in addressing the run-off issue, which is crucial for the long-term sustainability of our efforts.
We kindly request approval to use the commuted sums designated for Natural and Semi-Natural Greenspaces at Ferrensby Pond:
£49.31 (Spend by 07/07/2025): To purchase additional native plants and install educational signage (currently, I can get a couple of signs potentially drawn up and printed on boards for around this amount)
£41.62 (Spend Date Passed: 20/11/2017): To discuss the possibility of extending or reallocating these funds to support our current initiatives. Such as purchasing native pond plants and flowers/grasses .
Forms and papers are not my strong suit, and without volunteers coming forwards to advise, it’d be appreciated if this was a simple and straightforward as possible (I’m just a volunteer, trying to look out for what is best for the small bit of habitat we have available in the village + trying to improve the local area).
As an aside, we have also requested use of a green waste bin from the council a number of times (ideally free of charge), but this has not been forthcoming (the first request made in around October 2024).
Your guidance and support in these matters would be invaluable to our ongoing work!
Thank you for your attention and assistance.
Warmest regards,
Jonathan Pow
Chair Ferrensby Village Meeting
———- Forwarded message ———
From: CommutedSums<CommutedSums@northyorks.gov.uk>
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2025 at 11:44
Subject: Available Commuted Sums – Ferrensby
To: Ferrensby <clerk@ferrensby.com>Message content redacted due to this footer:
Any opinions or statements expressed in this email are those of the author of the email, and do not necessarily reflect those of North Yorkshire Council.
This email (and any files transmitted with it) is confidential, may contain privileged information and is intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient, please be aware that any disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited and may be unlawful – you must not disclose the information to anyone, but must instead notify the sender at the above address and then destroy all copies.
Incoming and outgoing email messages, IT systems and applications are routinely monitored for compliance with the law, relevant policies and to ensure the integrity and effective operation of our ICT network and digital estate. In line with this, the content of this email and any attachments have been checked for the presence of viruses, but we advise that you take your own steps to ensure that they are actually virus-free.
If you receive an automated response stating that the recipient is away from the office and you wish to request information under the Freedom of Information Act, the Data Protection Act or the Environmental Information Regulations, please resend your email to the Council’s Information Governance Team( infogov@northyorks.gov.uk) who will process your request.
For information about how we process data, please see our Privacy Notice at www.northyorks.gov.uk/privacynotice.OFFICIAL
Dangerous Driving Letter to Mayor David Skaith 31/03/2025
Leave a Reply