We are launching our Wild Photography Completion as part of Wild Week which celebrates our wonderful local nature and wildlife.
Practise your photography skills and capture a photograph of wildlife in Mindenhurst and Deepcut. Weather you photograph an insect, your dog enjoying a walk, or you are lucky enough to spot a deer, we would love to see them.
There will be an under 15s and over 15s category, with a £25 National Trust voucher for each winner. The winners will also be presented with a framed print of their photograph.
Please email your entries to hello@mindenhurst.co.uk by Friday 19th August, Winners will be announce on Wednesday 24th August and the winning photographs will be exhibited at our Community Drop in event on Wednesday 31st August.
We really want to share these photos with the community so if you enter this competition you are agreeing for your photo to be shared on our website and Facebook page.
Please send your photograph to hello@mindenhurst.co.uk by 19th August.
Please include the following information in the email:
We really look forward to seeing the local wildlife you have spotted and photographed.
The British hedgehog is classified as vulnerable to extinction however there are many ways that we can help and keep them a common and familiar part of British life.
The following suggestions are from ‘Hedgehog Street’ which is a fantastic charity and has loads of advice and resources: www.hedgehogstreet.org/get-involved.
Wildlife features like log piles, leaf piles, compost heaps and an undisturbed ‘wild patch’ will provide shelter and insect food for hedgehogs.
Give hedgehogs access to your garden with 13cm x 13cm square Hedgehog Highways in or under your fence, and encourage neighbours to do the same.
Remove hazards like litter, netting and chemicals, and check thoroughly before strimming and mowing. Ensure ponds have a sloped side or escape ramp for any hedgehogs that fall in.
Hedgehog houses can be bought online or built with our instructions. Supplementary food is also a great way to help – meaty cat or dog food and a shallow dish of water!
If you are lucky enough to spot a hedgehog in the area, make sure that you log the sighting on the BIG Hedgehog Map.
This map helps to build a picture of hedgehog numbers and locations around the country.
We have had a go at building hedgehog houses ourselves and have placed them in the Central SANG.
The basic design enables hedgehogs to enter and exit the box, but prevents larger mammals, such as cats, foxes and badgers from getting in.
Hopefully these will provide a safe home for them to sleep, hibernate, and nest throughout the year.
We recently experienced a technical issue with our central email account: hello@mindenhurst.co.uk.
Unfortunately this has affected our account for a number of weeks and meant that external emails were not delivered.
The problem has now been resolved however we have been unable to retrieve undelivered emails.
We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and if you have a query outstanding please can you resend this to either hello@mindenhurst.co.uk or niki.dufour@skanska.co.uk.
To celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee people across the UK are being invited to plant trees in an initiative called ‘The Queen’s Green Canopy’.
To support our local environment and to honour the monarch’s 70-year reign we will be giving away 70 trees during the year to local residents, schools and community groups.
To apply for a free tree please click below and complete the application form.
If you are one of the first 70 people to apply, we will be in touch to find the right species of tree for the space you have available.
Trees will be delivered from a certified nursery at the start of the tree planting season in October.
We are taking advice from Surrey Wildlife Trust to maximise biodiversity and provide the appropriate tree species for the local area.
If you have any questions or difficulties completing this form please contact us at hello@mindenhurst.co.uk.
Aquinna Homes plc is delighted to be joining the Mindenhurst community. We will be refurbishing the imposing “HQ Building” located on Newfoundland Road to our normal very high standards with an exceptional specification worthy of such an outstanding building. All of our homes will be very spacious and will be smoothly integrated within the fabric of the existing building.
Our development will comprise 12 one and two bedroom apartments and 3 three bedroom duplexes with delivery expected by Spring 2023.
Aquinna Homes plc is a multi-award winning company over several years with a small but highly experienced team. The company was set up in 2004 and has since built over 700 homes across 50 locations. We offer a creative and refreshing new approach to home building within the aspirational residential market.
Stephen Brazier, Managing Director said “We thrive on our innovative solutions and exemplary specification. We build in some of the finest locations in London and the South East. We are delighted to add Mindenhurst to our portfolio and we are sure you will be impressed by the homes we offer to the market. We take great pride in creating beautiful homes of outstanding quality, each with the Aquinna hallmark of attention to detail.”
We very much hope this is our first development of many at Mindenhurst and we hope to be an active part of the community for many years to come.
We will regularly update our website on build progress and sales releases on www.aquinnahomes.com, where you can also learn more about our product and philosophy. We very much look forward to welcoming you on a visit to our show-home at Mindenhurst in the first half of 2023!
Aquinna Homes plc – May 2022
A recent full play safety inspection of the Blackdown play area has been undertaken by ROSPA.
Based on the recommendations highlighted in this report the current landowner has requested us to take some items out of service until such time as they can arrange for the remedial works to be undertaken.
We update this post when we know when these repairs are likely to take place.
This Easter we are hosting an exciting nature trail quiz through the Central SANG from 8th to 11th April. Have a fun family walk, learning more about our local trees and wildlife, as you complete the quiz and follow the trail through the woodland.
To take part just visit the education boards in the Central SANG, marked on the map, and answer the questions below.
If you would like to bring the completed quiz over to us at the Mindenhurst Project Office, Newfoundland Road, on Monday 11th April we will handing out chocolatey Easter treats to everyone that took part.
World Water Day takes place on 22nd March each year and focuses on the importance of freshwater throughout the world.
Here in Mindenhurst we are situated very close to the fresh waterway of the Basingstoke Canal. We also have the new village pond, which in addition to being great for wildlife, is an essential part of the Mindenhurst Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS). The SuDS network of swales, ditches and channels manage the surface water run off across the development and form part of the protection for the Basingstoke Canal SSSI. The pond is an integral part of this system and helps to break down pollutants in the water through natural processes before the water eventually flows downstream and into the canal.
Our village pond is also a welcome natural habitat as it encourages plants and wildlife to thrive. Since it was built in 2018 the vegetation that was originally planted has been thriving. The damp meadow grass, wetland, marsh planting, and submerged planting has welcomed many species and provides an important habitat for biodiversity, especially birds, amphibians and invertebrates such as dragonflies. This new habitat also contributes to the biodiversity net gain strategy of the development.
You may have noticed that the Village Green pond forms a coverage of algae and duckweed during the warmer months. The presence of this coverage indicates that there is a high level of nutrients present in the pond. It is natural for a pond to develop this coverage during an annual cycle, however, it is important that this coverage is managed to avoid poor water quality in the pond. The pond is regularly inspected to ensure this cover does not adversely affect the biodiversity within the pond. Regular maintenance activities also take place which can include the direct removal of the coverage and dredging however this is done in a controlled and sensitive way. The timing of the management is important for protecting biodiversity, therefore, scheduled maintenance on a pond will usually be carried out in the autumn or winter, when waterfowl, amphibians and aquatic invertebrates are less active.
The objective for the pond in the long-term is to provide a good quality aquatic habitat for biodiversity, which also acts as an important part of the SuDS network.
The Christmas Elves have been back in the Central SANG again this year. We hope you had the opportunity take a walk through the woods to see what they have been getting up to.
We held a quiz about the elves and I am pleased to announce that the £50 National Trust voucher was won by Darcey, aged 6. Thank you to everyone who visited the elves and who took part in the quiz.
We hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas.
Construction of a new Hall & Woodhouse multi-million-pound community pub is underway in the village of Mindenhurst, Surrey.
Work began at the end of the summer to deliver a state-of-the art, family-focused pub which will provide great food, drink, and hospitality when it opens to guests in Spring 2022.
The pub will be named ‘The Frog at Mindenhurst’ and is located on the corner of Brunswick Road in the small village, overlooking the lake and village green. The opening will also boost local employment by creating an estimated 40 new job roles.
Mark James, Property Director at Hall & Woodhouse, explained: “When considering the design of the pub, we wanted to ensure it was in keeping with its natural setting. This is why we have based our designs on a traditional farmhouse and barn, with a contemporary twist.
“Ecology and setting are so important. Our team has therefore put a significant amount of thought and consideration into the landscape, trees, plants and shrubs in our outdoor areas. We want to ensure that the pub connects with our beautiful and scenic surroundings.”
The Frog’s layout has been carefully considered with dedicated areas for casual drinking in the bar and dining. Additionally, a pantry has been created to provide a cosy setting for guests to enjoy everything from a warming coffee and homemade pastries, to a pint of Hall & Woodhouse’s famous Badger beer.
Noticeable key features of the building include an extensive glazed gable end and an outdoor fireplace on the large veranda.
The building’s design incorporates a number of green technologies that have been subtlety integrated into the overall aesthetic. These include PV solar panels, air source heat pumps, ambient cellar cooling, LED lighting throughout, and an electric kitchen.
Reclaimed building materials have been sourced for the pub’s structure and upcycled interior furnishings have been created to enhance the décor and incorporate elements of the surrounding environment. There will also be eight electric car charging points on site and numerous cycle bays.
Mark added: “We are proud to become part of the local community at Mindenhurst and are excited to get to know our neighbours. We very much look forward to warmly welcoming guests for some great hospitality next spring.”
For updates on the build, and for more information on Hall & Woodhouse, please visit www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk .
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