[juliem]

My local authority are building a 30acre warehouse in a 50 acre field next to  2 fields which I own. The ditch along both of my fields will therefore become their responsibility(bought from a local farmer for a few million) I cleaned this ditch out a couple of years ago in order to consolidate the sides and had the ditch fenced off.
Now the local authority want access to my fields in order to maintain the ditch(there is a large hedge on their side)...and clean it out again. The ditches are very deep and the ground very wet(not very porous).I am rather reluctant to let them have access because although I will get the ditch cleaned out..whatever time of the year it is done there will always be damage and compaction done to the pasture by their heavy machinery .I get the grant from Natural England and the single farm payment for pasture...so it isn't as though I can get the local authority to plough and reseed afterwards.Isn't their some rule about 7 years of pasture?
The local authority are obliged to maintain the drainage...but not improve the drainage..Am I being oversensitive to damage to the pasture? The pasture is grazed by sheep....gave up on horses/ponies too much damage!

[shygirl]

something to consider is the weight of heavy plant on wet ground can dislodge clay pipes underground. this happened to us after BT drove round our land replacing poles, and after a farmer spent a long tie cleaning ditches with a digger. made the land far worse.
what about planting your own hedge?

[juliem]

I stock fenced against the ditch a couple of years ago...just as well to consolidate my boundary.The warehouse is going to be 18 m high .A big landscaping issue.The local authority has made a section agreement of £40.000 available for residents to plant trees on their own land .But whatever I plant in my fields would have to be stock fenced and I would loose the grazing....considering an orchard if I can get the planners to pay for everything .No space in my garden to plant any more trees.
The issue of clay pipes is a good point....
If I have anything done I make sure they use those little diggers that arrive on trailers not JCB''s.

[pgkevet]

I suppose the major point here is .. what would happen to the ditch if council don't maintain it.. i.e would you clear it out (a horrid job). either way it needs maintaining and if there;s a fence and deep ditch with any appreciable distance between them then a small digger won't reach without tipping.

Aside from all that I strongly promote planting fruit and nut trees along field edges - forget the wild natural stuff.. stuff you can eat and give away - plums wallnuts, sweet chestnut, apples, etc

[Marches Farmer]

Might be worth having a word with Citizen's Advice Bureau, NFU or similar.  Need to put something in place that sets limits as to what kit they can bring onto your land, that they should only enter your land at a time of year agreed with you, that the agreement will be subject to annual review and that entry one year does not set a precedent for future years.....