Lottery lifeline to revive traditional Broads skills
An exciting and far-reaching scheme to help revive the traditional skills of the Broads has been made possible by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Fund has awarded the Broads Authority and its partners £714,500 to run the Reed, Sedge, Fens and Mills Bursary Scheme providing much needed training for the reed and sedge cutting and millwrighting heritage industries.
Lesley Harrison, Landscape Architect for the Broads Authority, said: “This is a much needed boost which will be vitally important in preserving the historic character of this area. There are 74 drainage mills in the Broads but only one local millwright. Many of the mills are in a derelict state yet millwrighting skills, to carry out repairs and maintenance, are in danger of extinction.
“Meanwhile, the reed and sedge cutting industry is not attracting enough new entrants to manage the reed, sedge and fen vegetation. The bursary training scheme will provide the opportunity for trainees to learn the necessary skills to manage this sensitive local landscape for reed and sedge production and nature conservation.”
The £1,038,600 scheme will provide ten reed and sedge cutting bursaries, in two tranches of five, for just over 1½ years each and five millwrighting bursaries for 3½ years.
They will be open to both new entrants from a variety of working backgrounds and existing craftsmen who will begin individually tailored, on the job training in the summer. Successful candidates may have the opportunity to gain a National Vocational Qualification.
The reed and sedge cutting bursaries will include learning about the historic and cultural background of the Broads fens, health and safety, first aid, brushcutter and chainsaw work, construction skills, fen management, habitat management techniques, bird identification and nesting protocol, water level management and boat handling skills.
The training for millwrighting bursaries will take place at a variety of sites on the Broads including Womack Mill at Ludham and Clayrack Mill at How Hill. They will include learning about the historic and cultural background of the industry and mills, maintenance of mill machinery, brickwork, timber maintenance, paint systems, tarring, lead flashing application, rigging, lifting, hoisting, and nesting and roosting protocol.
A Bursary Training Officer and a Project Supervisor (Construction Skills) will be appointed to help run the four year scheme.
The Broads Authority will work closely with its partners, which include members of the Reed and Sedge Cutters Association, a local millwright, Easton College, the RSPB, English Nature, and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, in delivering the bursaries. Other organisations will also be involved.
Michael Knights, Heritage and Landscape Manager for Norfolk County Council, described the bursaries as: “Fantastic news! I am really excited about it. This is what we have been wanting for 20 years. It will enable a proper apprenticeship scheme to be established for millwrights which will ensure the survival of these iconic features of the Broads. It builds on what we have started in the Land of the Windmills on Halvergate Marshes.”
Richard Starling, Chairman of the Broads Reed and Sedge Cutters Association, formed in 2003 to help rejuvenate the industry, said: “This is wonderful news for the long-term future of the Broads reed and sedge cutting industry. It will give a unique opportunity for those who are awarded bursaries to learn and work with established reed and sedge cutters throughout the Broads. We hope the scheme will provide strong foundations that will underpin the industry's continuing rejuvenation. All parties involved with this project need to continue to work closely together and our Association welcomes this latest Broads Authority initiative."
Libby Purves, author, broadcaster and Broads lover, said: “HLF’s investment is wonderful news. The Broadland land and waterscape is very special - our inheritance from the ingenuity and skill of past generations. It would have been sad to see the characteristic mills and fens disappearing because there weren't enough people with the skills to save them; and it's good to know that our young people can still do what our ancestors here did."
If you are interested in any aspect of the scheme contact the Broads Authority on 01603 610734.
24/01/2006
