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.
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.
Mental Health Awareness week will be taking place from Monday 9th to Sunday 15th May
It is important to be aware of our own mental health as well as checking in with others, that is why we will be encouraging everyone to get out and walk with a friend / family member wherever is accessible to you.
Mindenhurst has numerous paths and trails to discover and take the opportunity to calm your mind and recalibrate with nature.
If you would like some direction with where to go head over to the Mindenhurst Website Travel page: https://mindenhurst.uat.kolabdigital.com/travel/
Please find below the latest construction update.
1 – Drainage works will be taking place to the South of the Bovis site on Royal Way. There will be some disruption to the top of Royal Way but this should not affect access to the Central SANGs hut, and we do not anticipate any road or footpath closures.
2 – There will be works undertaken to the first bellmouth on Mindenhurst Road as you enter from the northern access roundabout. This will involve installing kerbs, edgings, and tarmac alongside lowering or raising manholes in this location. There will be some localised re-routing for pedestrians and this bellmouth will not be available for waiting or parking.
3 – Landscaping works will continue to the Green Swathe, including importing topsoil, planting and installing footpaths. These works will be coordinated with Cala to allow access to all areas. There will also be installation of bridges which will be positioned over the swale at the Green Swathe.
4 – Works will continue to Mindenhurst Road, including installation of fencing and bollards.
5 – Highway works will be continuing outside of the main military gate to complete the
highway in this location. For this, the front gate to the CALA development will be closed and access will be via the back of the site. This is anticipated to last for 3 weeks in March.
– Bat boxes will be installed around the site to rehome any bats that might be displaced by construction works ongoing around the development.
Please find below the latest construction update.
1 – We will be installing a new substation and electrical cables on Blackdown Road. There will not be any road closures due to these works.
2 – Refurbishment works to St. Barbara’s church will continue. This includes the installation of scaffolding to facilitate weatherproofing and decoration works. We will be closing off some of the parking spaces in the church car park, on the left-hand side as you enter. This will be our compound area and will allow us to conduct works without blocking access for pedestrians.
3 – Landscaping works will be continuing to the Green Swathe, including the installation of the new pedestrian bridges.
4 – We will start demolition of the buildings within Princess Royal Barracks that are situated on the path of the new Loop Road. This new road will run behind the Mindenhurst School therefore there will be additional noise in the area. Dust and noise levels will be closely monitored during these works.
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.
For ‘Random Acts of Kindness Day’ on 17th February, Skanska is collecting donations for The Hope Hub to distribute to people who
need their support.
Some of the individuals they work with are in emergency accommodation and only have access to a kettle or microwave. The supplies they need the most are food which can be easily stored and heated. We have put together a list of items they would appreciate:
• ‘Just add water’ items e.g. pot noodles
• Meals in a tin / jar e.g. spaghetti hoops / chicken casserole
• Cereal bars
• Vegetables in a tin / jar
• Cereals
• Men’s deodorant
• Other toiletries: toothbrushes, toothpaste, bodywash
If you are able to donate any of these items please bring them to Skanska’s Project Office, on Newfoundland Road, where there will be a donation box until February 17th.
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