Good Morning,

Just a brief update and a couple of photos to let you know how we are progressing.

The transplanting of the reeds seems to be taking really well, I guess this recent period of good weather has helped. 

We have been assisting the council with placing some boulders at the entrance of the path leading into the reed area. They asked if we could strategically place them so as to assist walker/rambles who could access the path and to discourage fly-tippers which does seem to happen a lot in that area. (it also has been removed)

Don't forget if you want to ask anything about he project please feel free.

Stay safe

Good Morning,

Just a brief update and a couple of photos to show where we are with the project.

Things admittedly have been a little slow as the weather hasn't done us any favours recently as the lagoons have been filling up with water. That said, Mark and the team have continued with the transplanting which seems to be going really well as the new bog mats seem to be doing their job within the lagoons.

Please feel free to ask us any questions you may have about the project.

Thank you 

Joan

Good Afternoon

Just following on from Colin's previous posts I thought I'd introduce our Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB) team who are conducting the work at the reed beds on behalf of Northumbrian Water. We have worked with Northumbrian Water for numerous years and are currently a framework partner and are delighted to be involved in this project along with the Coal Authority.

Let me introduce the team:-

Lee Cox          -         Contract Manager (he oversees the operations)

Mark McAlinden   -    Site Manager (he manages the day to day works)

Duncan Hodgson       -    Site Foreman (he will lead the team on the ground)

Joan Tatters         -    Customer Liaison Office (I deal with customer interaction and support)

We will have contractors on site too who we will supervise during the work.

I know Mark, his team and I are only too happy to answer any questions you may have about the project so please feel free and ask away.

I am sure those of you who walk/ramble or cycle along the bridle path will have noticed our work and the gated areas, please take care along there and wait for the access from our site team.

Have a good day.

10th March 2021

Hi,

Last week we began cutting reeds in two of our reed beds to ensure that these are unsuitable for nesting this year and to allow us to harvest reed turves from them over the next three months.  The reed cutting will be complete within a week and we will not be planning to cut any of the other reed beds in 2021 to ensure that nesting locations are available for the bird species that make use of our habitat.

The reed turves harvested this year will be transplanted into two other beds that have already had their minewater and wastewater sediment removed.  These refurbished beds will then flourish and provide further years of successful service; co-treating minewater and wastewater, and also continuing to provide an excellent habitat for all the wildlife species using them.

In previous years, the reeds have grown out of the edges of the beds and this year we have plans to regularly cut the grass and to prevent reeds growing on the grassed slopes.  Doing this will assist future maintenance of the reed beds, allowing us to keep them in good condition for the benefit of our treatment operations.

Regards,

Colin Burdon

8th March 2021

Hi,

Please let me introduce myself as the Project Manager responsible for this project.

This long duration activity will remove waste material from the reed beds that has built up during fifteen years of successfully co-treating Kibblesworth minewater and sewage from Birtley Sewage Treatment Works.  The waste material from the reed beds is recyclable and once removed it shall provide free space within the reed beds for further treatment of minewater and sewage using this sustainable process.

More information on the background to this collaboration is available at this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/lamesley-mine-water-treatment-scheme

The construction activity will be within our existing reed bed site boundaries, however we shall need to cross the Public Right of Way between our sets of reed beds.

Members of the public will be delayed on the right of way for a couple of minutes while our vehicles are crossing and we thank you for your patience and support. 

The approximate frequency of construction vehicle crossings will be four back and forth crossings every hour during the working day (Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm).   We will not be working on weekends.

The work is expected to start April 2021 and complete by July 2022. 

For your own safety - during our vehicle crossings we will ensure you cannot enter our working areas or the area of the crossing vehicle.

We welcome your feedback – please use this portal to post your comments and we will read them and reply.

Regards,

Colin Burdon