Alconbury Brook Flood Group Bulletin June 2024

Downstream funding: We are delighted to report that the EA is providing £10,000 worth of funding for clearance of the brook from the area around the Holiday Inn and Racecourse. This part of the brook has been neglected for a while with a build up of trees and debris in the brook. The work will be done by the Internal Drainage Board in the late autumn.

Downstream Group: The Flood Group has got together with other partners affected by flooding further downstream including Huntingdon Racecourse and The Holiday Inn Hotel, both of which have been badly affected by flooding. We are pleased with the news of the £10,000 input. The group has now met formally to look at a number of issues beyond the A141 flyover, as far as Garkies Sluice, where the brook runs into the River Ouse. Hopefully there will be more news as we make progress.

  Our first Farm Walk. Over 20 people, including farmers and those with an interest in projects going on at Cowpasture Farm, attended our first event. It started with a talk about our experiments at the farm and how they might help farmers improve yields and reduce flooding. We looked in particular at how soil condition can enhance or reduce plant growth and yields and affect water holding capacity. After that the group tried some of the citizen science methods the group has used to measure how compact the soil is and it’s impact on root growth. Finally, we walked to a flood group pond restoration. On the way Stacy Branson pointed out ways in in which biodiversity on the farm is being enhanced. We learnt a lot about running a farm walk, but generally felt quite pleased with our first attempt. The next one will be later in the summer. You will get an invitation. Our thanks to Anglian Water, Natural England and Unium Bioscience for funding and support and especially Cowpasture Farm.

New Alconbury Weston Project. We are working with the EA and County Council on a project on the east side of Vinegar Hill. Fairly steep hills provide rapid run-off when the soil is saturated.

The most straightforward parts of the project is are the restoration of the Tanglewood Pond to its original size and the sensitive restoration of the ancient ridge and furrow in the surrounding field, which could act as a sequence of swales to hold up flood water for possibly 24-36 hours.

We are pleased to say that the project has attracted funding from 2 possible sources. Work on more detailed concepts and design are is underway.

School Lane microplastics monitoring. The school Lane ditch has an interesting journey from Alconbury Weald, under the motorway, through agricultural land and then along beside a residential street. Will the special nets find a lot of microplastics? Where will it have come from?

Sediment Project. We are very grateful to Dr Simon Pulley from Rothamsted Research who has written his report about the origins of sediment in the brook having been assisted by our citizen scientists. He says that in many places in the country most sediment comes from riverbanks rather than run-off from farmland. In this catchment, however, farmland is a more important likely source of sediment in some of the brook’s tributaries. Loss of sediment material is a loss of topsoil for farmers and also causes a brook flow problem. We will now be looking at some parts of the brook to see if we can understand more about the sediment issues.

Flood Group AGM: We were delighted that nearly 70 people turned up (more than last year and on a Friday night!). It was a very positive event. If you were able to come it was great to see you and we hope to see you again at the next AGM.

Contact us to volunteer at info@alconburybrookfloodgroup.uk