Little Marlow Lakes Country Park

The Little Marlow Lakes Country Park, is a green space near Marlow and Little Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England, covering approximately 329 ha.[1] Different parts of it are in private and public ownership.[2] The entire site lies within the Green Belt.[1]

Location and access

The Country Park covers an area between the A4155 to the north and the river Thames to the south and between A404(M) motorway to the west and Coldmoorholme Lane to the east.[3] It is located close to the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Several paths run through the area, with access points in Little Marlow, Coldmoorholme Lane and via the Thames Path. The area around the easternmost lake is known as the Spade Oak Nature Reserve.[4] A large part of the area lies within the 100-year floodplain of the Thames.[1]

History

In the 19th century, most of the land was dedicated to agricultural use or parkland. During the 1960s and 1970s, the area was used for gravel extraction.[5] These pits were later used as landfill sites, resulting in soil contamination with hazardous waste.[1]

In 2017, the Little Marlow Lakes Country Park was formally designated by Wycombe District Council under the provisions of the Countryside Act 1968.[6] The following items are quoted[6] as fundamental to the vision:

  • “to harness the potential that exists in the area, rather than introducing major new development”
  • That “the area will remain predominantly open in character with clustering of activities (and

any new buildings) being located in areas where development already exists.”

  • The recognition that “there may be special circumstances when some limited, small scale,

related ‘enabling’ development may be justified” provided they also can “be justified as part of a comprehensive approach”.

Nature and wildlife

There is a large variety of waterfowl in and around the lakes, including kingfisher, grebe and wigeon.[7][8] The area is also home to skylark, owl, badger, bat, amphibian and reptile species, as well as stag beetle. Wildflowers include teasel and orchid.

Other uses

Residential

There are residences in the parish of Little Marlow, as well as Westhorpe House and the Westhorpe Park Mobile Home Park.[9] There is a Crowne Plaza hotel in the southwest corner.

Recreation

Sports facilities and activities in the area include an athletics track,[10] angling for members of the Marlow Angling Club,[11] open water swimming, paddleboarding[12] and water skiing.[13]

Industrial and commercial

The Little Marlow Sewage Treatment Works lies in the area.[14] There have been several reports over the years of raw sewage spilling into the Thames, the nearby nature reserve or Little Marlow.[14][15][16][17]

In early 2021, part of the area near the Spade Oak lake was used as a temporary film set.[18]

References
  1. "Little Marlow Gravel Pits : Supplementary Planning Guidance" (PDF). Wycombe.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. "Wycombe District Council purchases Spade Oak Quarry - Little Marlow Parish Council, Little Marlow, Marlow". Littlemarlowparishcouncil.org.uk.
  3. "Little Marlow Lakes | Country Park Community Partnership". Littlemarlowlakes.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  4. "Spade Oak Nature Reserve, Little Marlow". Nationaltrail.co.uk.
  5. "Lafarge Aggregates (Marlow) - a location from The Ambassadors of Death(DW)". Doctorwholocations.net.
  6. "Wycombe District New Local Plan Examination : Additional statement by the Little Marlow Lakes Country Park Community Partnership" (PDF). Wycombe.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  7. "LITTLE MARLOW GRAVEL PIT". Bucksbirdclub.co.uk.
  8. "Pinner & District Local Group - The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds". 2.rspb.org.uk.
  9. "Westhorpe Park Mobile Home Park, Buckinghamshire | Park Homes". Parkhome.org.uk.
  10. "Athletics track". Wycombe.gov.uk.
  11. "Marlow AC - Marlow Angling Club". Marlow-angling-club.co.uk.
  12. "Marlow Open Water Swim - Westhorpe Lake". Marlowopenwaterswim.co.uk.
  13. "Marlow Water Ski CLUB". Marlowwaterski.co.uk.
  14. "Little Marlow Sewage Treatment Works, Buckinghamshire". Gov.uk.
  15. "Big problems in Little Marlow". Thebeyonder.co.uk. October 24, 2018.
  16. "'I feel very angry' – TV presenter Steve Backshall 'frustrated' as sewage enters the River Thames". Bucks Free Press.
  17. "Walkers seen 'wading through' footpath flooded with sewage after machinery fails". Bucks Free Press.
  18. "'Star Wars' spinoff has sleepy English village ready for galactic dogfight". Nypost.com. January 16, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.