Most people don’t realise that the Trust owns a number of the fields around the village, purchased over the years to prevent development. One of these fields is behind the houses on Meriden Road and Diddington Lane. The Trustees have recently decided to plant cricket bat willow on this land in partnership with Gray Nicholls. Not only does this involve planting trees at a time when so many around the village are being cut down, it also represents a very good investment return on the land that can then be spent on our charitable objects in the village including the school, Fentham Hall and community projects.
The trees were planted on the 15th February 2022 and are currently around 15 feet tall. It will take at least 15 years for them to reach sufficient size to be felled and used for cricket bats. There is some maintenance required each year to ensure that there are no side shoots developing as these create knots in the wood and render it unsuitable.