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RESTORATION (Phase ONE) Trees Work commenced on 4th Feb 2003 at 9:00am Back to Restoration Index
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Following much controversy over felling healthy trees the project finally got underway on the morning of February 4th 2003 and the peaceful sound of birdsong was to be replaced with the whining chatter of the chain-saw for the next couple of months: |
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The first tree to be felled to make way for "The Heart of the Park" building |
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Tree Fellers prepare to move a felled lime tree |
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In the midst of an ice-cold blizzard, the tree is stripped of its branches which are shredded ready for use as wood chippings |
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| March 2003 | |
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Moving on to March 14th 2003, here we see one of the giant London Planes felled and in the process of being moved. Planes were planted during the 1880s due to their resistance to industrial pollution. I accordance with the Heritage Lottery funding agreement, many of the London Planes would be replaced by trees that had previously graced the Arboretum as Loudon had specified. |
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The notice was a little ambitious as work on tree removal continued beyond this date. |
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Remaining tree stumps were ground down by special machinery, any remaining evidence was rotted down with a chemical composting formula. |
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Photo taken on March 17th 2003 shows the brick cabin used by Park Keepers at the Grove Street Lodge as a retreat. According Percy Thrower, he was paid 7 shillings and sixpence to stay spend nights here whilst on fire/bomb watch during the 1941-1942 air raids that hit the Arboretum. The Lombardy Popular was one of many that enclosed the Arboretum since 1840. This one was removed and despite promises to replace it, it has never been replaced. |
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The scene during the months of February, March and April 2003 looked pretty grim with Herras fencing blocking off all of the open grassland and mounds.
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| April 2nd 2003 | |
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By April of 2003, work had commenced on the development of the Wildlife Garden and playground areas. Here we see the view looking towards Madeley Street, the fence to the immediate right is approximately where the caf now stands. |
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The old playground is being cleared to make way for the new equipment. This massive concrete block was the base of the old roundabout. |
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Photographs have been selected from my collection of 24,000 digital images taken over a 5 year period. This section will continue to develop to show the full restoration project All photographs in this series are copyright Christopher Harris 2003 |
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