Work begins at Frenze Beck

The diggers moved on to the floodplain at Frenze Beck on Monday, in the initial phase of the scheme to create a wetland paradise on the outskirts of Diss.

South Norfolk Councillors Jane Mackie (portfolio holder for Culture & Learning) and Brian Clark-Taylor (Councillor for Diss) joined South Norfolk Council’s Countryside and Heritage Manager Michael Bentley, to celebrate the start of the project. At one point, Councillor Jane Mackie took the controls of the digger.

Paul Wilkinson, the Biodiversity Coordinator for Norfolk and Steve Henson, Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Wetland Specialist, were also there to see the first cut made on the site.

This project will create 1.5 hectares of reedbed and ponds. The next phase will include planting broadleaf trees, such as Oak and Ash, hedgerows and scrub zones - Hawthorn, Blackthorn and Bramble – which will provide areas in which otters can breed or rest.

Frenze Beck will be a major contributor to the Norfolk Biodiversity Action Plan. Birds such as the Bittern, Bearded Tit, and Marsh Harrier, moths such as the Small Dotted Footman and the Reed Leopard and mammals such as otters, water shrews, water voles and harvest mice, will all benefit from the creation of the new reedbeds.

Although small, the site will enhance the rich wildlife areas already available along the Waveney and benefit the many species that use the Waveney Valley, its tributaries and associated wetlands. A major partner in this work will be the Upper Waveney Valley Project.

This is all part of the wider TENs project (Transnational Ecological Network), involving projects in Germany and The Netherlands as well as the Norfolk and Suffolk borders.

Once completed, people will be able to visit the site and study the wildlife - utilising viewing platforms and circular walks. And students of all ages will be encouraged to use the site to study the wildlife in its own environment, using the viewing and pond dipping platforms.

Michael Bentley, Countryside Manager says: “It is so exciting to see a project that has been planned for so long, really starting to happen. This work will transform an ecologically poor site into a haven for many species that are currently under threat, while its position ensures that it will be accessible to people who wish to either enjoy a walk in a quiet and relaxed setting, or take the opportunity to study nature at close hand.”

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