Sutton Beauty Web Log – Introduction

This blog documents news and events in Sutton, St.Helens relevant to the sites and buildings of special interest featured in Sutton Beauty.


Brickfields £2m Makeover Well Underway

28 April 2008         Category:  Brickfields, St.Helens
Brickfields construction site
Work is now well underway on the new £2 million Brickfields Community Woodland located off Chester Lane in St.Helens, that Sutton Beauty has been talking about since we launched 18 months ago (see our Brickfields page). The site has been closed to walkers for some weeks as a major operation to bring 11,000 tonnes of earth onto it has been taking place. This is so that trees can be planted in areas where there’s not enough soil covering. Small hills have also been created in order to give the site, which is the size of over forty football pitches, a much more natural look.

Ibstock brickworks in Sutton, St.Helens
New saplings are being planted with additional landscaping work set to create hard wearing trails. Local Sutton Manor and Lea Green residents are helping to design four new entrances for Brickfields with assistance from the neighbouring Ibstock Brickworks (pictured left). Twenty different designs reflecting the site’s history are being turned into a resin brick format provided by Ibstock and which will be incorporated into clay brick kissing gates.


11,000 tonnes of earth at Brickfields, St.Helens
Sutton Beauty uncovers evidence of supersized moles at the Brickfields site!
11,000 tonnes of earth have been moved onto the site (photographed 15th March '08)

In May more mature trees will be planted in Brickfields, so that we won’t have to wait too long for a decent sized woodland when the work is completed early next year. A central avenue of English oaks is to be created along with some cherry trees and pines in order to provide variation for folk like me who tend to wander from one area of woodlands to another!

Simon Brown is the Works Supervisor for the Forestry Commission in the North West and says:

Pasted Graphic 7 It’s a real pleasure watching the site changing on an almost daily basis. When we’ve finished local people are going to be really pleased with the results. There will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to enjoy the outdoors, whether it’s walking the dog, cycling or running. The project also includes a 20-year management plan so people can be confident that this new woodland will be kept in good condition.Pasted Graphic 8


The latter is especially good news as it’s so easy for sites to deteriorate and become dumping grounds. Sutton Mill Dam is an unfortunate example. However, the Forestry Commission and their chums at Mersey Forest do have a good track record for keeping sites they manage in good nick. Completion of the project, by the way, is expected to be in March 2009. Sutton Beauty will be updating with regular progress reports.

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Brickfields Community Woodland - Sutton Manor - St.Helens - Sutton Beauty

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