Thursley National Nature Reserve Boardwalk
Designed and constructed by Keystone,Thursley’s boardwalk is winner of The Rambler’s ‘Britain’s Favourite Footpath 2024’.
Keystone was appointed by Natural England to deliver outflow restoration and habitat maintenance works at Quoisely Mere, a designated SSSI in Cheshire. Our team was selected based on our proven experience in wetland restoration and sensitive ecological contracting.
Service Highlights
- Selective vegetation clearance of approximately 1.1ha of trees and scrub
- Timber extraction of 10m3.
- Stump treatment to prevent re-growth.
- Ring barking of select mature trees to encourage standing deadwood.
- Natural outflow regeneration of on-site ditch networks.
- Creation of floodplain areas.
- Stock fence installation.
Approach
To protect the SSSI and surrounding land, we worked closely with the client and neighbouring landowners from the outset.
A Foreman with specialist wetland SSSI experience led the project, ensuring all works were carried out to the highest environmental standards. The approach included:
- Selective felling of trees around the mere by hand and with the aid of
specialised machinery (360o excavator fitted with a power-blade
attachment to avoid ground damage). - Brash burning of all arisings on specialised burn stations to prevent ground
damage. - Removal of fire ash to prevent nutrient run off.
- Sensitive herbicide application to all freshly cut stumps.
- Channel in-filling with woody debris and cohesive substrate to create 4
natural dams totalling 33m in length.
- Mechanical grading of adjacent low lying areas to encourage outflow to wetland areas.
Outcome
Despite challenging weather conditions, the project was completed on time and within budget. The team delivered all restoration objectives while ensuring negligible impact to the SSSI.
Strong relationships with local landowners were built and maintained throughout the works, contributing to the smooth and successful delivery of the project.
The project received outstanding feedback from the Land Management Advisor at Natural England and Cheshire County Council.