GETTING A HANDLE ON PANHANDLE - WE ARE ASKING FOR YOUR VIEWS

Panhandle is an open space managed by Redbourn Parish Council. It is situated between Hilltop and the side of St Luke's School.

It was always a challenging parcel of land because it was so overgrown and sadly treated as a dumping ground for building
materials, general household waste and dog muck. It has been under discussion for many years, but the delay in tackling it has always been the lack of funding for such a sizeable project.

Due to our work with The Community Payback Team from HM Prison and Probation Service we have been able to clear this area to create a better place for both nature and the community. Since working with them from September 2023 to January 2025 we had been supported for approximately 58 weeks, which equates to over 1000 hours of free labour.

At the start of the project, Panhandle was made up of mainly dark, over shaded scrub and dead material. This environment
greatly reduces its appeal to our community and any wildlife. The dark only allows a very limited number of plant or tree species to survive and the land had very little wildlife also. It was noticeably quiet as there were very few birds.

We have removed many dead and diseased trees, and stripped ivy from the healthier trees to give them the chance of becoming stronger. This has created more light, more growth and the presence of bird song can now be heard.

Walkers can now navigate safely and enjoy the space. There was once a small path which acted as a cut through from Panhandle to the Crouch Hall Lane footpath, but the path was dangerously overgrown but now a much safer and brighter passage has been created.

The amount of dumped rubble and rubbish has been incredible and we have spent over £5,000 disposing of all of it, even digging up two pans at Panhandle!

We are still working to improve Panhandle and have started to plant some trees, shrubs and bulbs, using shrubs and trees from Cumberland Garden.

If you are a local resident and able to help with watering the new shrubs, please do take a watering can to anything with a stake in the ground.

We have received positive feedback from local residents who are thrilled with improvements made so far. Our request would be that users of this area continue to help keep this area free of dog muck and rubbish – bins are provided!

We plan to continue with the work in September after main bird nesting season has ended, but if you have any feedback, or wish to volunteer to keep digging out the waste from the land, please email Zoe at facilities@redbourn-pc.gov.

Please complete the form below and give us your views on how best to use this land.