Investigating
53.175907, -0.405517 Lincoln, LN4 2DU
Sent to Lincolnshire County Council less than a minute later. Council ref: 2865085.
Hello,
I am writing about ditch cutting management.
The field and road verge by Nocton allotments (North Kesteven, Lincolnshire) have been cut very short (I attach some photos I took). This is not great from an ecological perspective, as we've had very little water over the summer, and cutting the ditch verge will prevent water retention in these fields and speed up water further downstream.
The road ditch verge on Nocton Fen Lane (North Kesteven, Lincolnshire) earlier in the autumn, had scrub that was full of linnets and other small birds. As you know, this is an important habitat for birds in winter.
I have been very surprised that the ditch vegetation has been cut very short. This is not good from several points of view. I understand that perhaps this is something that traditionally has been done to help with flooding, but it has the opposite effect.
Once the plants are not there: 1) the water flows faster downstream; 2) the roots won't absorb moisture, making flooding more likely; 3) flooding will last longer because the water can't be absorbed; 4) the ground becomes waterlogged killing all the good invertebrates and worms that keep the soil alive. 5) the inverts in the bushes die, and so they can't support the birds in spring.
Here is a photo of how waterlogged the ground is.
Please let me know if I can help in any way with ecological knowledge.
Many thanks
Dr Graziella Iossa
(I am an ecologist at the University of Lincoln)
Updates
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Thanks for letting us know about your issue with a collapsed verge. We will look into this and let you know what we find within the next 14 days. You can find out more about verge damage on our website
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Thank you for your report. We will investigate and make an update to this report within 14 days.
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