Heath Management Strategy
A number of residents have asked about work being undertaken on the Heath lately. The works will deliver the results of a Heath Management Strategy developed for the Parish Council last year. The following extracts might be enough for a heads up, however, if you want to read more, you can find the full document on the PC’s Council Documents Page.
Site Description
This small species-rich and diverse heath is a relic of Bergholt Heath; this Heath once covered most of the area of the village. The site has small areas dominated by Heath-grass with other notable indicator species of acid grassland/heathland including
- Harebell, an Essex Red Data List species, and
- Heather.
Damper grassland found towards the east of the site has an area dominated by taller tussocks of Purple Moor-grass, an increasingly unusual species in Essex.
Gorse and Bracken form two central islands that are left uncut, and also form part of the marginal scrub cover alongside Bramble. Some large Pedunculate Oaks overhang the heath to the south and east.
Rationale
The site supports acid grassland and heathland consistent with the corresponding Habitats of Principal Importance in England. Heathland is now an increasingly rare Essex habitat and West Bergholt Heath is one of 
only four non-Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) areas in Colchester Borough recorded in the Natural England Lowland Heathland Inventory. The presence of a significant population Harebell justifies the inclusion of SC1.
Management Issues
Management issues include the spread of scrub and trees from the margins of the site; also the slow process of soil enrichment brought about by leaf litter accumulation and dog fouling.
To avoid further enrichment and to encourage the sensitive heathland flora, cuttings will be collected and removed from the site.