Over the past few months the team from Keystone Environmental have been hard at work constructing the Wichelstowe boardwalk. In the development team we have also been very aware that residents were keen to use it and finally be able to cross directly between Middle and West Wichel.
We were therefore delighted to get the all clear from the safety inspection and set 9th July as the opening date. The contractors working on the paths connecting the boardwalk to the development areas were still working on the afternoon before the planned opening, which led to some anxious phone calls from us! Thankfully the team from Conlon had everything under control and we were good to go.
It was a pleasure to welcome Cllr Marina Strinkovsky who is both Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Placemaking and Planning and a member of the Wichelstowe Joint Venture Board to cut the ribbon. We have been talking about the boardwalk, and sharing plans and photos for some time so it was fantastic to walk it with Cllr Strinkovsky on a lovely sunny day. Equally fantastic was the number of residents who had come down to try it out and shared their positive feedback with us.
We would also like to share answers to a few questions we have been asked by those we met out on the boardwalk:
- ‘You need some bins!’ Yes, we do. The bins have been on order for some time and should appear this month. Once installed by the developer, Wroughton Parish Council will be responsible for emptying them.
- ‘What will be built in the fenced off area?‘ The area to the south of the ponds and pontoon will be the Boardwalk Play Area. We are waiting for the equipment to be delivered, which like the bins has a very lengthy delivery period, and you should see activity in the area within the next couple of months.
- ‘It would be good to have some seats’ Agreed. Benches are planned to be installed on the pontoon.
- ‘Are you going to fill the pond up with water?‘ Many of the ponds around Wichelstowe are attenuation basins which help manage rain water and protect areas from flooding when streams and ditches are at capacity. Unfortunately in order to have this capacity in wet periods, they are more likely to experience low water levels in long dry periods. Hopefully you will enjoy experiencing the changing environment as the seasons change.
- ‘Why is there a dead end?’ This is just the first section of the boardwalk and it will continue south, with the path running up and over the bus only road which will link Middle and West Wichel before returning to boardwalk through the green space sections.
- ‘Can you cycle on the boardwalk?’ You can, but it is not a formal cycle route. Pedestrians have priority on the boardwalk and we would ask all users to be respectful of others and not cycle at speed.
- ‘What is the triangle of soil for?’ There are some more trees to be installed, in particular one that will sit at the boardwalk junction point. Due to the dry weather we will wait until later in the year to install these, giving them a better chance of surviving.
- ‘Are these laminated signs permanent?’ No, permanent signs will be installed in the next few weeks and the temporary signage removed.
- ‘What is the name of the bird monitoring app?’ We are using Bird Weather and the Wichelstowe monitors can be found at Kingfisher Lake :: BirdWeather and Middle Wichel Canal :: BirdWeather
We’d also like to thank Julian James Photography for taking the photos you can see below as well as taking the drone photos which allow us to monitor progress.
Take a look at our videos below to see a full flythrough of the boardwalk and images of how the route has been built out over the past 6 months.
Boardwalk Monthly Progress
Boardwalk Build Progress
