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Warwickslade Cutting was a long, straight drainage ditch dug around 1850. In 2009, The Forestry Commission decided to fill it in and replace it by a more natural, meandering stream. The Forestry Commission was carrying out the works as part of its "Final 4000" programme - a joint effort with Natural England, The Environment Agency and the National Park Authority - which aims to restore the last 4,000 hectares of SSSI in the New Forest that are deemed to be in an unfavourable condition.

The reason for the works was that Warwickslade Lawn SSSI was "in an unfavourable declining condition because the artificially deepened cutting meant that there was no seasonal inundation of the grassland and woodland habitats" (FC restoration plan).

Surprisingly, much of the course of the original, pre-1850s, stream could still be seen on the ground. The aim of the works was to reinstate the original stream as closely as possible, whilst filling in the Cutting. It was necessary to bring in 10,000 tonnes of hoggin to fill in the cutting, plus some clay to make plugs to ensure that water followed the desired course.

The contractors were Alaska Environmental Contracting ( Link ). They used 8, 13 and 18 tonne hydraulic excavators, 10 tonne rubber tracked dumper trucks and an innovative light railway.

Other related sequences of pictures:-
SU2606 : Warwickslade Cutting: filling it in, Knightwood end (start of sequence)
SU2705 : Warwickslade Cutting: filling it in, Vinney Ridge part (start of sequence)
SU2705 : Warwickslade Cutting: original stream bed (start of sequence)
SU2705 : Warwickslade Cutting: laying the railway (start of sequence)
SU2705 : Warwickslade Cutting: running the railway (start of sequence)
SU2704 : Warwickslade Cutting: repositioned railway (start of sequence)
SU2705 : Warwickslade Cutting: refencing Poundhill Inclosure (start of sequence)
SU2705 : Warwickslade Cutting: flood plain (start of sequence)