Alien invader held at bay

THE BATTLE to keep a pretty but invasive plant at bay at a Lymm beauty spot has been won – for now at least
A community payback team has spent the last six months fighting a crop of Himalayan Balsam, which had sprung up at Lymm Dam.
The persistent plant is a horticultural pest which spreads fast. It blocks out the woodland floor and stops native wild flowers flourishing.
Warrington Mayor Brian Axcell called in Cheshire Probation Area’s team to help out, naming it as one of his Mayoral Projects in 2009.
He said: “Something needed to be done. I’ve seen this plant growing wild in other places and it wasn’t difficult to imagine what it would do if it was left to grow here.”
Himalayan Balsam was introduced to Britain in 1839 and grown in ornamental gardens before escaping and rampaging through the British countryside.
Area Ranger Tim Baker said: “We’ve been doing a lot of work here over the last few years to manage the woodland and get good native species diversity with native trees and woodland wildflowers. We were having some success with that then this stuff came along.
“The benefit for us from the community payback team has been having lots of hands on deck. We just show the lads what the plant looks like and let them get on with it.”
The Community Payback team had to remove the invader from woodlands and steep slopes as well as the water’s edge. Mark Tinwell, the probation service’s Community Payback Supervisor was out in all weather supervising the team.
He said: “It’s been quite tough at times, but worthwhile. Pretty much all you could see when we first got here was Himalayan Balsam and it can grow to ten feet tall.”
“We’ve been working in thick undergrowth and ferrying it back and forth is hard work. Some of the team have been very tired because they have full time jobs too but they’ve got on with it.”
Mayor Brian Axcell said: “The work the team have done here is superb. This area was all covered and now they have cleared it but there will be more to do next year.
“Community Payback is really useful on both sides. It gets something done for the community that really needs to be done and the people who have been ordered to do something useful as part of their sentence to see that they can really achieve something.”
Picture: Tim Maher and Michael Harris on the Community Payback Scheme show Mayor and Mayoress of Warrington, councillor Brian and Irina Axcell the offending Himalayan Balsam plant at Lymm Dam with Interventions district Manager Dave Skyner with Ranger Elaine Moss looking on