HALE DUCK DECOY
Visits from The Freemen of Hale
The Hale Freeman made their annual visit to Hale Duck Decoy on August 20th 2017. Rob Cockbain discussed with them the present situation of flooding on the decoy and how we, The Friends of Pickerings Pasture, were having trouble getting anyone to show any interest.
The Lord Mayor, Paul Turton, mentioned that the Freeman would be interested in trying to solve this situation and if the FOPP wrote to them they would consider the possibility of giving a grant to enable the job to be undertaken. At the same time two Freemen, Steve Turton and Jim Ross (the Lord Mayor in waiting), offered to come down and have a go digging down to the outlet pipe.
This work was undertaken on 16th September with the help of Gary Broad. Work was started digging out the clay which had been partially washed away by the ingress of the very high tides. After digging out, slate and new clay was put in place. This work certainly stopped the water getting into the decoy but after several months, and following one particularly high tide, part of the clay was breached and small amounts of tidal water leaked onto the decoy.
Our thanks to the Freemen of Hale and to the ' engineers' in particular.
The Lord Mayor, Paul Turton, mentioned that the Freeman would be interested in trying to solve this situation and if the FOPP wrote to them they would consider the possibility of giving a grant to enable the job to be undertaken. At the same time two Freemen, Steve Turton and Jim Ross (the Lord Mayor in waiting), offered to come down and have a go digging down to the outlet pipe.
This work was undertaken on 16th September with the help of Gary Broad. Work was started digging out the clay which had been partially washed away by the ingress of the very high tides. After digging out, slate and new clay was put in place. This work certainly stopped the water getting into the decoy but after several months, and following one particularly high tide, part of the clay was breached and small amounts of tidal water leaked onto the decoy.
Our thanks to the Freemen of Hale and to the ' engineers' in particular.
The initial investigation. Aug 2017
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Digging down to find the problem. Aug 2017
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The work was undertaken in September 2017.
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Now, in early March and after most high tides have passed, the main pathways around the decoy are clear of water, which is a great improvement on the past two Springs. This work, and the ditch clearance, should allow the grass to grow again this Spring and help to stabilise the pathways. After the main breeding season it will be necessary to have a further work party to attempt to block the leak with more slate and clay. This will hopefully begin during late June or early July depending on the breeding birds.
