Lafarge create a new Norfolk Broad

THE first large-scale man-made Norfolk Broad to be created for over a century has recently been handed over to the Whitlingham Charitable Trust in Norwich by Lafarge Aggregates. Originally a sand and gravel quarry, the 33ha Great Broad at Whitlingham Country Park, just two miles from Norwich city centre, is now a countryside destination that is expected to attract thousands of people every year.

Describing it as a ‘dream fulfilled’, Sir Timothy Colman, who had the original idea to turn the area into a country park, accepted the Broad from Lafarge’s director of mineral resources, Stuart Wykes, on behalf of the Trust. The occasion was marked by the presentation of a water-colour painting, commissioned in memory of Mark Lintell, the landscape architect who drew up the plans for the park.

As a result of progressive restoration, the park now includes 113ha of scenic countryside incorporating two Broads, woodlands and meadows. The 4ha Little Broad, which was handed back to the Trust in 1997, today provides training facilities for windsurfing, dinghy sailing and scuba diving, as well as an outdoor education centre and a visitor centre.

The newly completed Great Broad will accommodate a 1,500m long rowing course and facilities for other watersports such as canoeing, windsurfing and sailing. The southern shore has full public access with car parking, a cycle track and picnic areas, while the northern shore provides sheltered areas of shallows, islands and scrapes to help increase the biodiversity of the restored land.

Speaking at the official handover, Sir Timothy Colman congratulated Lafarge on their well-deserved award-winning achievements at Whitlingham and said the project had been delivered with expertise, understanding and co-operation.

Stuart Wykes said the project had demonstrated Lafarge’s constructive approach to complex partnership working and their overall approach to sustainability. ‘From the early stages, the workings of the site were designed not only to achieve the ultimate restoration objectives, but also to minimize any impact on both the local community and the local environment,’ he explained.

In addition, in a UK first, a unique system of pumping sand and gravel beneath the river bed combined with the use of a dewatering wheel has been developed to work a third extraction area, Thorpe Marsh, located north of the river Yare. This area will be completed by 2009 and restored entirely for nature conservation.