NORLEY COMMONS / MOSSES & OTHER DELIGHTS

The rich diverse landscape of NORLEY

Norley is a rural parish located within the Cheshire Green Belt and contains areas of significant wildlife value as well as trees and hedgerows, woodlands and watercourses that provide important local wildlife habitats. Its character has been assessed as “Undulating Enclosed Farmland” and for Hatchmere as “Woodland, Heath, Meres and Mosses”

Norley represents a particularly undulating area of farmland, influenced by glacial drift deposits. Key characteristics include small scale fields, steep wooded valleys containing small brooks, disused sand quarries and a network of small, sunken lanes. The area around Hatchmere is a gently undulating, large scale landscape of meres, mosses, swamp, fen, farmland, woodland and heathland. There are large open water bodies occupying kettle holes formed during the last glaciation, known as meres, and peatland features include quaking bogs or `schwingmoor’, where sphagnum moss has formed over the water surface.

Norley has a number of important natural assets;

Flaxmere and Hatchmere are sites of international importance for the wetland habitats they support. They are also designated nationally as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Although both were considered by Natural England to be in ‘unfavourable’ condition, recent management of Hatchmere and Flaxmere by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust (CWT) means that their status in 2020 was assessed as ‘recovering’. Flaxmere Moss is also common land and it is described in greater detail under that heading.

A project led by the CWT entitled ‘Delamere’s Lost Mosses’ saw habitat management taking place on a variety of meres and mosses including Flaxmere Moss, Wickentree Waste, Hatchmere Moss, and Norley Moss. Note the latter is not in Norley. See Final report https://www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-06/Delamere%20Lost%20Mosses%20final%20report%

In addition to these nationally designated sites, Norley has six Local Wildlife Sites (LWS), the majority of which are in private ownership and not necessarily managed for their wildlife.

NORLEY COMMONS

There are 8 Norley commons in all and it is now generally recognised that they are all of value and need to be looked after.  Four of the eight Commons have been and are now both an asset both for wildlife and villagers, Flaxmere Moss, Wickentree Moss, Bratt’s Bank and the Memorial Garden have over the last few years greatly improved and with regular effort will continue to do so. Breech Moss has changed almost beyond recognition and hopefully will be restored, becoming a real moss, as precious a habitat as Flaxmere Moss. In 2022 the Waste was conserved so that its amphibians especially Great Crested Newts can thrive. The remaining two; Gazebank and Yearsley Lane need to be similarly looked after and protected.

BACKGROUND

The commons in Norley like many other parishes mainly consist of those areas that were considered to be of little or no value when Inclosures of the Commons took place in the late Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries. The unenclosed places were therefore termed “wastes” but this did not signify that they were used or were designated for waste in the more modern usage.

The full extent of the enclosures can be seen in the various tithe maps produced since 1836, see https://www.cheshirearchives.org.uk/search-and-shop/help-with-tithe-maps.aspx

Common land is not, as often popularly thought, owned by the commons or even in common. All such land is usually owned by someone and certain people designated as commoners have rights as to the use of that land. This can be anything from pasturing animals or collecting firewood by hook or by crook with the rights often quite arcane like turbary (the right to cut peat, e.g. Flaxmere Moss has many peat cutting holes), estovers (wood, that a commoner is allowed to take viz the implements of husbandry, hedges and fences, and for firewood) or the right of pannage  (swine allowed to eat acorns) See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_land

There are now no commoners left in Norley. As for the ownership of the commons, for many years there was no known owner, but some 18 or more years ago someone purporting to be the owner set up a property management company. This was ostensibly to exploit a loophole in the law whereby a charge could be made to anyone accessing their own property over the common land. This was effectively stopped in 2007 see https://www.oss.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Defra-guidance-on-vehicular-access.pdf and the property company has long ceased trading.

As there is no recognised ownership of the common land, Norley  Parish council  (NPC) and Cheshire West and Chester (CWAC) are in effect ”owners” of the common land to the extent that they can, if they so wish, prevent anything happening particularly if it would be detrimental. Following a public consultation, one of NWG’s recommendations to CWAC was that it should be mandated to ensure the protection of common land from development and not solely left to its discretion as at present.

The eight areas of common land in descending order of size are listed below.

Flaxmere Moss

As already indicated this is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Ramsar site (Wetland site of international importance) under the responsibility of Natural England. The Moss was in decline but has greatly recovered since CWT’s Lost Mosses project.

Both CWT and NWG have continued to ensure favourable conditions for these two sites maintaining positive habitat management in the long term, and to continue its conversion back to a schwingmoor (quaking bog). Japanese Knotweed was found a few years back and is now (June 2023) virtually eradicated.

Breech Moss

This is still virtually a moss in name only. The CWT plan (March 2014) to deal with its degradation including removing the invasive weeds e.g. Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan balsam and Rhododendron was carried out by NWG with help from CWT.  Although the moss is now in a condition where it was about to be fully restored following the CWT plan approved by CWAC and NPC after a public consultation, it has been stymied by the destruction of the culvert draining the Brook running alongside.  The water contains nutrients which would stop the regeneration of the sphagnum moss. However the trees in its centre were felled and the vital peat bunds put in place in 2023 and it is expected that the drain for the brook will be restored. It should be noted that sphagnum moss is 17 times better at carbon sequestration than a forest.

Breech Moss Management Map (opens in a new window)

Wickentree Waste

As indicated this was part of the CWT Lost Mosses project and NWG has been successfully engaged in its continued restoration, cutting bracken and removing saplings and brambles. There was some fly tipping of garden waste which has proved so far to be intractable but it is well away from the moss proper. Horse riders using it as a shortcut have been deterred by a simple brash (dead branches) barrier and a sign directing them to the bridleway.

The Waste

This was a largely undemarcated area with a large pond. It has a lot of invasive weeds from garden waste including Japanese knotweed (which is being eradicated) and also other waste including building rubble etc.

A Management plan (see attached) devised by CWT was approved by CWAC and NPC and work to restore the larger of two ponds took place in 2022. A path and bench have been put in place to make the area both of value to wildlife especially Great Crested newts and local residents.

The Waste, Norley Management Recommendations (opens in a new window)  

Sandybank Waste aka Memorial Garden

The Memorial Garden (part of the Wildflower memorial walk) improves year on year thanks to hard work by NWG members and financial help from donations including  NPC and the Norley Horticultural Society. It is now a wildlife haven and is being developed, so visitors can see how they too could make their own gardens more wildlife friendly.

Gazebank

There are two areas of this common divided by the road. One area has several connected ponds badly neglected but of great potential. It’s still not known what if any amphibians use them for breeding. The other side, which is as large, consists of a wooded dell which has a lot of invasive weeds such as yellow variegated archangel. In 2020 there was a lot of garden waste including Christmas trees, despite a prominent sign (put in by NPC after complaints from local residents) warning against fly tipping and littering. A plan to conserve the area proved to have practical problems and raised some legitimate concerns from local residents.  However, the need to conserve the area and make it better for wildlife and also more attractive to look at, are as valid as ever. It is intended to hold a meeting to discuss the options and get people’s views.

Bratt’s Bank

This is a grassed wooded area flanked by a road on two sides, hedges on the remaining two with a Farm track-way along one of them. There are two log piles. This was once quite neglected but the mown turf shows it is now being well looked after by local residents. In the spring there is a wonderful display of crocuses.  Some hedgerow wildflower seeds (paid for by Norley Horticultural Society) were sown here as they were in many other Norley hedges in 2020. 100 Wild English Daffodil bulbs were also planted.  Some improvements to the hedges could be made so they are more diverse and are better for nesting birds.

Yearsley Lane

This is one of the smallest commons; it is a wooded area next to marshy rough pasture and possibly the worst for dumped garden waste with significant quantities of dead bushes trees shrubs etc. as well as some black rubbish bags. A plan needs to be drawn up so it can achieve its potential of being both attractive and a haven for wildlife. 

 

THE WAY FORWARD

For the past three years (March ’20, October ‘21, and April ’23) NWG has organised a  “Beating the Bounds –  Norley Commons Walk”.   These have proved to be a popular and useful way of taking a snapshot “health “assessment of the Commons and giving an annual report both to CWAC and NPC (see Map).

It seems quite clear that all the commons need to be properly demarcated/ fenced. The ones where boundaries appear to be quite indistinct is the Waste, Yearsley Lane and to some extent Flaxmere Moss where the area of the Common proper is much larger than the moss itself. It does appear that “nibbling away” is still happening. Appropriate signage is also needed; there is one at Gazebank and several around Flaxmere Moss. They may not be entirely effective but they are of value, though it be would be useful to ensure that garden waste is included in the prohibitions. Especially important, as there is now a charge on Green Bins.

All villagers, but especially the occupiers of properties bordering the Commons, should take an active interest in them. As an added incentive, in addition to making them an asset to both wildlife and the community, it may well enhance property prices.

NWG are often asked to take charge of the Commons and we are happy to look after the Memorial Garden, and help CWT at Wickentree and Flaxmere Mosses. We worked very hard at Breech Moss too to get it ready for its restoration.  But, even if we had the resources to do so, it is our opinion that local residents should take the initiative and care and look after for something on their own doorsteps.