The Developing Copse

Like any diligent friends group, we like to keep a close eye on the developments around Three Cornered Copse.

The main development of concern has been, of course, Toads Hole Valley. But, in parallel, the permission to Aldi to build a supermarket on the Court Farm site at the top of King George VI Avenue has been granted. Aldi, refreshed with their recent business reports of growth, have promised to push ahead to 1500 shops in the next few years. Which means they will soon be starting to build.

The effect on Three Cornered Copse is significant. Firstly there is the disruption of plant and heavy traffic while the build is in progress, and secondly there is the (approved) plan to create a footpath through the top field between Dyke Road Avenue and King George VI Avenue, to facilitate pedestrian access to the supermarket between these two roads. Strangely there was never a pavement on the edge of the roundabout. connecting the two roads. The new path will come as welcome to folks crossing through the field, especially on Albion match days where an access to the park and ride might be welcome.

The AGM of our friends group took place at The Poets Ale and Smokehouse, who kindly lent their room for our meeting. The meeting was well attended, which included two of our councillors, Ivan Lyons and Emma Hogan. and a lively discussion on several topics was heard. We discussed the irritation of the closed (Woodland Drive) twitten, an inconvenience to many users of our park, now closed for nearly a year, despite the efforts of the council, and our members. The minutes will shortly be available on our website. www.threecorneredcopse.org.uk

Meanwhile in the copse itself the amazing growth of the floor vegetation has started to subside, leaving much to do on clearing pathways and controlling the spread The vibrant greens of spring and summer have faded away to a duller and deeper green. October is in the middle of the season of "mists and mellow fruitfulness", and it's worth a walk to see the senescence of the leaves as they turn golden, the beeches are a starring role in this show. Blackberries are starting to go off, but beware of picking (and eating) the mushrooms. We will be arranging another workday this autumn, keep an eye on our website and notices for details.

Simon Baxendale