We were four stalwarts … We met on Sunday 30th January 2022 to try to get things going again. There was a lot of litter, graffiti is now the dominant theme on the west wall, and quite a few trees and shrubs have got rather overgrown. There was only so much we could tackle but we made a start.
Some of the area around the listed iron bridge over New England Road was cleared of rubbish and overgrowth. We’ve seen some lovely wildflowers growing up in this area, including a grass vetchling lathyrus nissolia. We found some snowdrops growing among the leaves and there’s quite a bit of evidence of wildflowers coming back.
We also spent some time trying to clear overgrown bushes around the central seating area, cutting back the Salix purpurea which had become very overgrown, and also a small elm tree which has grown up there. The area looks very bare but the sight lines along the Greenway are slightly improved. We also weeded around the edge of the area, pulling up grass where it had encroached over the path.
What is extraordinary is that there is little evidence of the planting we’ve done nearby the benches: shrubs such as lavender and rosemary, and wildflowers including red campion, ox-eye daisies and salvias. The area has been much trampled on, there’s a lot of graffiti there and there was a lot of litter. We will just have to see whether the wildflowers at least come back … They often do.
Friends of Brighton Greenway 