Mason Moore | Hinckley Reporter | 20 December 2022
REFURBISHMENT WORKS on the moat inside Hinckley’s award-winning Argents Mead park are set to take place in early January, the borough council have confirmed.
The announcement comes after Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC) have commissioned Aquaserve Maintenance – who specialise in maintaining and restoring inland waterways – to carry out the works, which will start on 5 January 2023.
The works are to take place to protect wildlife, with any tree works being completed before the nesting season. Any fish inside will be safely removed, and work will be completed in the early part of the year before amphibians use the water.
Once they start, they will take around 12 weeks to be completed, suggesting that they should conclude by March. It has been noted that the works will only be carried out throughout the day to minimise any noise and disruption to the park and residents.
And, in addition, the moat will soon benefit from gaining “scheduled monument consent” from Historic England. But, this consent will need to be gained before the planned works start, as the moat is “an area of historical significance.”
A list of all the planned works are as follows:
- Reduced tree canopy cover to better reflect the original moat layout
- Tree works – such as the removal of diseased, weak, and overcrowded trees, and crown reductions to reduce leaf litter falling in the moat annually
- De-silting the moat to restore the water depth to help it from drying out
- Installing bank stabilising material to stop the banks from eroding and undercutting
- Introducing new plants to improve biodiversity and strengthen the banks
- Re-establishing the fountain and floating islands
- Repairs to the overflow system
A small part of the nearby Church Walk car park will be used to allow for ‘safe’ access to the moat, whilst a compound area will be set up on the edge of it, which will temporarily require a few of the parking spaces to be taken out of use.
However, most parking spaces will remain in public use for the duration of the works.
Coun. Bill Crooks, the Council’s Executive Member for Street Scene Services, said: “We’re pleased that after a lot of hard work to carry out the necessary archaeological surveys to ensure the planned works do not affect the historical integrity of the moat, we’re now in a position to start these works.
“The works will ensure the long-term conservation of this important historical feature within the town.”