Ferring Conservation Group

Affiliated to the Federation of
Sussex Amenity Societies

Chairman: Carol Dyball, 13, Somerset Road, Ferring, West Sussex.
Tel: 01903 249337
Email: [email protected]

Secretary: Ed Miller,
17 West Drive, Ferring BN12 5QZ.
Tel: 01903 502267
e-mail: [email protected]

The Chairman and Committee would like to wish all members
a very Happy & Prosperous 2012!

Invitation to join the Conservation Group

Meetings take place in the village hall at 2-30pm on the last Friday in the month from September to March and at 7-30pm in May June and July. In August we have a "Summer Social". The AGM takes place on last Friday in April. Occasional outings are also arranged. New members are always welcome and can enrol at the door.

NEWS: Ferring Conservation Group presents £300 cheque to Children's Hospice
Ferring Conservation Group has presented a cheque for over £300 to the local Chestnut Tree House Children's Hospice as a result of bumper sales of Christmas cards to members and others. The cards were produced by the group and reproduced from an original painting by group member, Tricia Hall.

All proceeds from the sale of the cards went to the Hospice, and in fact, packs of the cards completely sold out more than two weeks before Christmas. Due to their popularity, it is hoped to repeat the venture next year.

In addition, the Group also sent on a donation from a talk that Tricia Hall had recently given to the Friends of Ferring organisation, making up well over £300 in total. Conservation Group Vice Chairman, David Bettiss said, This is the first time that we have carried out such a project, and we are delighted to be able to support Chestnut Tree House in their great work, especially at this time of year. It really shows that we are keen to help worthwhile local charities, as well as carrying out our prime function of preserving the character of the village of Ferring. My grateful thanks go to Tricia for producing such a wonderful winter village scene in her painting, and for all her hard work in getting the cards produced, and then of course selling them! We plan to have more cards on sale for next Christmas as this year has been such a success.

Sue Palmer will give a talk on "Beach Cleaning" on the 27th January at 2.30 PM

Friday 10th February, 2012: We have a "get yourself there" trip organised for this date. Meet at Warnham Nature Reserve, near Horsham, at 10.30am - the location is on the B2237 road, north west of Horsham, just off the A24. This will include a guided tour by the warden of approx 2 hours, and admission is £1 per person. There are 3 hides overlooking the 17 acre millpond, and a nature trail. There is a diverse mix of habitats which attracts a wealth of flora and fauna, and should provide an excellent day out.

There is a good sized car park, a visitor centre and cafe that serves light refreshments and snacks. We aim to keep car usage to the minimum, so if you are interested in going, please contact the organiser, David Bettiss on 01903 246304 or [email protected] giving numbers attending and if you are able to offer a lift.

The Conservation Group was formed 20 years ago. Our Aims are to:

PRESERVE FERRING'S BEAUTY AND CHARACTER
CHERISH THE WILDLIFE
KEEP THE OPEN COUNTRY AROUND US
OPPOSE IN-FILLING OF THE VILLAGE

Our monthly meetings have speakers on local wildlife and many other local and regional conservation issues.

The grounds on which Ferring Conservation Group objects to in-filling when it comments on planning applications:

Putting additional houses very close together on plots which elsewhere in the road accommodate one house and a reasonable amount of garden is not respecting the character of the area (contrary to Government guidelines and Arun's own plan)

Every additional house adds to the burden of traffic, parking, drainage and other demands which the infrastructure cannot support---increasing housing density is not sustainable in Ferring

Every extra building in Ferring destroys a little more of the open space and habitat of the wildlife, with which Ferring still abounds----the gardens are an essential part of the green environment in which we live.

We do not want to see any more "two for one" developments that threaten to change the character of Ferring for ever.

We need more members to lend more weight to the protests we make to Arun District Council. If you would like to join, or rejoin, please let us have your name and address and £1 per member.

If you are on the internet you can be kept informed by the Chairman of all applications for unwelcome development in Ferring and at all meetings current information on planning applications is also discussed, along with other issues that threaten the quality of life in the village.

Ferring Conservation Group Surveys Rife Trees

Members of Ferring Conservation Group met up last Thursday on the Ferring Rife to survey the nearly 350 trees they planted back in March of this year alongside the river. These trees had been provided by the Woodland Trust, and the work was carried out by members in partnership with the Environment Agency. The main idea was to improve the natural environment in the area, and to specifically provide a wildlife corridor up and down the river which is such an important site.

Despite an incredibly dry Spring and Summer in the area, it was really pleasing to find that the vast majority had survived their first season. A total of 321 were counted, of which 276 were alive and only 45 had died. So, 86% of those that were counted had survived, and the remainder had probably succumbed to vandalism or other outside factors.

The most outstanding survivor was the Oak with 60, while the losers were Hawthorn with 37 and Blackthorn with 38. The other trees planted were: Hazel, Silver Birch and Mountain Ash, as well as some willows.

The survey was combined with an interesting tree identification walk in the area which was led by group member, Tricia Hall, where participants were able to see and identify some 17 species of trees. An additional treat was to see a Merlin - a relatively rare bird of prey fly overhead, and it confirmed what a valuable habitat the Rife is. This was the thirteenth trip or outing of the year that Ferring Conservation Group has organised for members, in addition to their monthly meetings.

Group Vice-Chairman, David Bettiss said, It was great for members to return to the site where we carried out our tree planting in March, and good news that so many of the trees had survived their first eight months, especially when we have had such a dry Spring and Summer hardly perfect growing conditions! We will watch with interest how they progress over the coming months and years to provide a fantastic habitat that will really benefit all sorts of wildlife. It goes to show how local people can work together to improve their environment in the face of so many challenges that it faces, including various attempts to build on the strategic gap.