Legacy Habitat Blog

Buy Electric Fencing Online

2012-01-12T16:48:00.000Z

Our electric fencing products are now viewable online and orders can be placed @:

stocking a complete range of:

Electric Fence Energisers
Electric Fence Posts
Electric Fencing Conductors (Wire, Tape & Rope)
Electric Fence Insulators
Tools & Testing Equipment
& more.

For further information relating to Gallagher electric fence products, visit www.electricfencing.uk.com

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-23T12:56:00.002Z

Wishing all of our customers and suppliers a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.

New Website

2011-11-29T09:55:00.000Z

Legacy Habitat Management are pleased to announce the launch of their new website @: www.legacy-habitat.co.uk

Please have a browse, we welcome your feedback.

Hopefully this new site will service us well over the coming years and develop over time.

Don't forget to 'Follow' us on Twitter and 'Like' us on Facebook

New: Electric Fencing available from wildlifefencing.co.uk

2011-08-02T16:45:00.001+01:00

We are pleased to announce that we are now an authorised dealer for Gallagher electric fencing products through our retail arm: wildlifefencing.co.uk.

We can supply all the products from the Gallagher range on a next day delivery, items including:

Mains, battery & solar powered energisers
Posts
Conductors
Insulators

for all stock fencing, horse fencing, badger fencing, poultry fencing and other applications.

We will be adding products to our website shortly but in the meantime, please call us on:

0114 261 9478

or email:

sales@wildlifefencing.co.uk

where we would be happy to discuss your requirements and provide prices for all products available from the Gallagher Electric Fencing Catalogue 2011.

Legacy Tree 10 year Anniversary.

2011-02-28T09:53:00.003Z

The original Legacy tree photo (shown on the left) that appears on much of our stationary and marketing material was taken about 10 years ago. As a 10 year anniversary of this photo, Matt Dixon, our Managing Director revisited the tree to see how it was getting on. The photo on the right is how it looks today.

The tree itself is a mature Oak, located on the Chatsworth estate, Derbyshire, just outside the Chatsworth House grounds towards Pilsley on the B6012. The grounds of Chatsworth House were extensively landscaped by Lancelot "Capability" Brown in the late 1700's and planted with a mixture of native and non-native tree species. Unfortunately, it is not known whether the Legacy Tree was part of these works, or is indeed this old.

The tree is fairing well, despite a couple of broken dead limbs on the lower reaches, but otherwise looks to be in a good healthy condition. The 2 photos above were taken at slightly different angles, and at different times of year, hence the lack of foliage on the later photo.

The tree has now become a bit of an old friend amongst Legacy staff and their families. Matt's children often point it out from the car window, if they ever drive past that way, the eldest being about the same age as the original photo.

Let's hope that the tree continues in good health well in to the future.

Purchasing Online at www.wildlifefencing.co.uk

2011-01-21T10:09:00.000Z

In a move to be able to offer our customers more competitive shipping costs for delivery of products ordered at www.wildlifefencing.co.uk, we have temporarily switched off the online payment part of the ordering process.

Products can still be ordered online via the website, we will then contact the customer directly by telephone to arrange payment, shipping charges and delivery. This has been done so that we can tailor a shipping method from one of our couriers that suits the size, weight and type of products ordered.

We can accept payment from all major credit cards over the phone or arrange an account (subject to terms & conditions).

ISO 9001

2010-12-10T17:18:00.003Z

Congratulations and thanks to everyone at Legacy for achieving ISO9001 accreditation. With robust quality control processes in place the company is well placed to move forward with its development in 2011. ISO 9001:2008 is the International Standard for Quality Management Systems and is recognised worldwide. It is essentially a set of guidelines for running a company in such a way that customer requirements are satisfied first time, on time, each and every time. We hope to live up to these expectations.
The implementation was part funded by MAS and overseen by Hatton Parkinson Associates.

Caudon Newt Fencing Sledge

2010-12-03T11:16:00.001Z

The recent snowy weather has not only brought on some hazardous road conditions and general travel chaos, but has also generated the usual rush to the shops for bread, milk and other essential items like... sledges.

This has led to the recent discovery that our Caudon 4mm HDPE Permanent Newt Fencing makes a most excellent sledge.

Cut into 600mm wide sections, meaning you can get 4 sledges out of one panel, the extremely hard wearing and smooth HDPE material glides perfectly across fresh snow, compacted snow and ice. The top fold provides a great handle to hold up the front of the sledge and used in a 'lying on your front' style, it can easily be steered with the feet.

Easily the fastest sledge I have been on this year. Buy your Caudon Sledge at http://www.wildlifefencing.co.uk

Legacy awarded CHAS accreditation.

2010-11-30T14:29:00.000Z

Legacy Habitat Management Ltd are pleased to announce that they have been awarded CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme) accreditation.

We have undergone a 12 month assessment to demonstrate that we are compliant to a number of essential Health & Safety standards as set by CHAS including important elements of Health & Safety Law.

The principle aims of CHAS are:

To improve health and safety standards across Great Britain.
To reduce duplicated safety applications for both suppliers and buyers.

At Legacy Habitat Management, we take Health & Safety very seriously with our primary aim to provide and maintain a safe place of work, safe systems of work, safe equipment and a healthy and safe working environment. Being CHAS compliant helps us to re-enforce this to our customers and be part of a national scheme to improve health & safety.

Legacy switches to Aspen Fuel

2010-11-17T14:39:00.005Z

At Legacy Habitat Management Ltd, we use various bits of 2-stroke petrol driven equipment such as chainsaws, brush cutters, hedge trimmers etc but have often experienced reliability issues with such kit.

The nature of our work means that some contracts require these bits of equipment, but others don't, meaning that the equipment often sits idle for periods of time. It is after these periods of inactivity that we have found engines not starting or poor engine performance.

We have always used standard unleaded petrol, mixed with 2-stroke oil for this equipment, which we believe might be where the problems occur. When sitting idle, any fuel left in the equipment evaporates over time, leaving behind its constituent 2-stroke oil as a sticky residue. This blocks fuel lines and clogs up spark plugs, causing the problems we have experienced. Ordinary petrol also contains hundreds of different substances including unsaturated hydrocarbons that can cause of build up of residues in engines and carburettors. It is also these hydrocarbons, sulphur and olefins, along with substances such as benzene, present in ordinary petrol that can have some serious health & environmental consequences.

Aspen fuel, a type of Alkylate fuel is produced synthetically from the clean gasses released during the refining of crude oil. As there are already fewer impurities at source, alkylate fuel is a very clean fuel which only consists of around ten substances without the hazardous components such as benzene, aromatic hydrocarbons, sulphur & olefins.

Alkylate fuel runs cleaner, leaving fewer engine deposits and produces far fewer toxic exhaust emissions, this is both beneficial to the health of the operator and the environment, and will hopefully reduce our equipment repair costs.

Aspen fuel is available in the following formats:

Aspen 2 - for 2 stroke equipment such as chainsaws, brushcutters etc.
Aspen 4 - for 4 stroke equipment such as lawnmowers, rotavators, boat engines etc.

No modifications are required to equipment.

For further information about Aspen alkylate petrol visit Anglo American Oil Company ltd at their website: www.aaoil.co.uk/environment

Wildlife Fencing Design Guide & Working with Wildlife Site Guide - Back in Stock

2010-11-10T12:24:00.000Z

Wildlife Fencing Design Guide & Working with Wildlife Site Guide are back in stock at www.wildlifefencing.co.uk.

These guides offer a great reference manual for anyone working in the wildlife mitigation industry. Visit the Publications page at www.wildlifefencing.co.uk for further information on each book.

Pdf examples of both guides can be viewed by clicking on the above images.

Baker Consultants Open Day

2010-09-21T21:03:00.000+01:00

I would like to thank Andrew Baker and his team at Baker Consultants for a very interesting and enjoyable evening at their new Cromford Station premises.

The evening began with a warm welcome and introduction by Andrew, and an outline of the ecology landscape for 2011.

Senior Ecologist, Paul Howden-Leach then took over the helm and demonstrated the new Wildlife Acoustics SM2 Remote Bat Detector equipment. Paul recently took this equipment to the National Bat Conference at Loughborough University, showcasing its benefits over other products on the market and how its improved functionality can aid with bat call data analysis.

We then donned our boots and coats for a guided local heritage walk around Cromford, with an amusing and informative history talk about Richard Arkwright and his cotton spinning mill in the village. The return walk along the river was lead by Senior Ecologist, Kelly Clark who showed various bat detecting devises in use and explained some of the 'clicks' & 'cracks' made by the equipment and how these relate to different bat species and activities.

All in all, a very pleasant evening and a great opportunity to meet some of the Baker team. Very tasty scones too!

£££ Badger Fencing Price Reduction £££

2010-09-13T08:54:00.003+01:00

As badger mitigation works are often carried out at this time of year, wildlifefencing.co.uk have reduced the price of badger netting products to help you complete your badger mitigation projects.

We have slashed up to 20% from 50m rolls of high tensile badger netting, available in 3 netting profiles (HT15/158/8, HT17/194/8 & HT19/238/8).

Caudon^® Badger Gates are in stock. These heavy duty, galvanised steel gates are extremely robust, they can hold up against the destructive nature of badgers, can be hammered into hard ground and will survive all that British weather can throw at them.

Visit www.wildlifefencing.co.uk now and place an order, or phone us on 0114 261 9478, we would be happy to help with your requirements.

New Address & Telephone Number Summary

2010-08-27T11:02:00.000+01:00

All of our new address details and phone numbers are now all operational.
To summarise:

Telephone numbers:
Legacy Habitat Management Ltd: 0114 256 0106
wildlifefencing.co.uk (material sales): 0114 261 9478
Fax: 0114 242 0330

Email addresses:
Legacy Habitat Management Ltd: info@legacy-habitat.co.uk
wildlifefencing.co.uk: sales@wildlifefencing.co.uk

Websites:
Legacy Habitat Management Ltd: www.legacy-habitat.co.uk
wildlifefencing.co.uk: www.wildlifefencing.co.uk

Address:
Legacy Habitat Management Ltd
Legacy House
Unit 2a Greasbro Road
Sheffield
S9 1TN

Apologies for any inconvenience that this change-over has caused.
Regards
Legacy.

New Telephone Number

2010-08-23T10:39:00.000+01:00

Our new Legacy Habitat Management telephone number is:

0114 256 0106

This number should also be used for wildlifefencing.co.uk for the time being.
Apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.

New Address

2010-08-06T11:00:00.000+01:00

We have now moved into our new larger premises. Our new address is:

Legacy Habitat Management Ltd
Legacy House
2A Greasbro Road
Sheffield
S9 1TN

We also have a new fax number:
0114 242 0330

Our main phone numbers are still
0114 276 0001 (legacy Habitat Management)
0114 273 1751 (wildlifefencing.co.uk)
These will be changing soon so watch this space for further information.

Office Move

2010-07-29T09:40:00.000+01:00

Legacy Habitat Management Ltd and wildlifefencing.co.uk are currently in the process of moving to a new, larger premises.

Our phone lines are yet to be installed at the new office.

Our existing phone numbers:
0114 276 0001 (Legacy Habitat Management)
0114 273 1751 (wildlifefencing.co.uk)
should continue to work for the time being but we have recently been experiencing some problems with these lines.

If you are having any difficulties in reaching us by phone, please email us on:
info@legacy-habitat.co.uk
and we will answer your enquiry as quickly as possible.

Watch this space for details of our new address and telephone numbers.
Apologies for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Case Study: Ecology & The Law

2010-03-05T13:13:00.000Z

Article taken from Legacy Habitat Times, written by Penny
Simpson, Environmental Lawyer, at DLA Piper LLP (Issue 5, Autumn 2009)

2009 was an interesting year in the world of nature conservation and wildlife protection law!

There has been an important judgement given by the High Court in relation to a case called Woolley v Cheshire East Council. It is a case which puts the spotlight on developments which will have impacts on European Protected Species such as great crested newts, bats, dormice or otters. The case has looked carefully at the questions the Local Planning Authority must ask itself when considering applications which may have detrimental impacts on these animals or their habitats. The case has confirmed that the Local Planning Authority must address itself to three crucial questions. These questions are in fact the tests which Natural England, the licensing authority, will also have to apply after planning permission has been granted when it comes to consider whether to grant a European Protected Species licence to allow the development to proceed. These tests are to consider whether the development proposal can be said to be necessary for imperative reasons of overriding public interest; whether there are any satisfactory alternatives to the development; and whether adequate mitigation is being offered so as to ensure that the "favourable conservation status" of the species can be maintained. Prior to this case, a strict interpretation of the law indicated that a Local Planning Authority would have to consider these three tests. However, it is only this case which has clarified from the court's point of view that this is definitely the case. We are already seeing a need for developers to be far more clear on how they regard these three tests as being met in their planning applications. We are given advice to a number of our clients on the best way of drafting the arguments.

The other significant development in relation to European Protected Species is that Natural England has altered its procedures and application forms which have to be completed in order to apply for a European Protected Species licence. These are now far more onerous forms to complete. There are in particular many questions which Natural England now requires answers which focus on the three licensing tests as described above. We are finding that increasing numbers of our clients are having their licence applications rejected, not because the mitigation offered is inadequate, but because Natural England is not satisfied that they are meeting the other two tests ie relating to alternatives and reasons of overriding public interest. We have been providing advice to a number of our developer clients on how to resolve these difficulties and have in all cases to date succeeded in allowing our clients to obtain such licenses.

Finally, the Environmental Damage Regulations entered into force in March this year. These implement the Environmental Liability Directive from the European Union. Under this new regime those carrying out operations on land which may need environmental consents such as for waste operations or PPC operations, could become exposed to significant costs arising from the requirement to remediate "environmental damage" (as defined) in the Regulations. The aim of this new regime is to focus in on the 300 or so pollution incidents per year which are regarded as being particularly significant and to require those who have caused the damage to not pay a fine but actually instead to carry out the work necessary to rectify the damage. "Environmental Damage" is defined in very strict ways. Contaminating land in a way so as to create harm to health is one aspect, polluting water in a significant way is another, and creating damage to biodiversity is the third and most novel aspect of the new regime. It is this latter aspect which we expect to have the greatest impact.

For any advice on these issues please contact Penny
Simpson, Environmental Lawyer, at DLA Piper LLP.
T: 0114 283 3467; E: penny.simpson@dlapiper.com

Trencher & Machinery Hire

2010-01-22T13:47:00.006Z

Legacy Habitat Management have opened the new year with the launch of a new trencher hire and specialist machinery hire service.

We have a number of specialist trenching machines available at competitive prices, ranging from a small but versitile pedestrian trencher, up to a large excavator mounted trencher, capable of cutting through concrete and hard aggregates. Specifically designed for cable laying and drainage systems, they are ideal for cutting trenches on wildlife fencing projects such as newt fencing, water vole fencing etc.
As well as trenching machinery, we have other equipment available for hire to assist in other projects such as fencing, scrub clearance, seed collection etc.

Full list of available equipment :

Visit: www.hire-trencher.co.uk for further details or call 0114 276 0001 where we will be happy to assists with your enquiry.

Legacy Habitat Christmas Grand Prix 2009

2009-12-17T14:06:00.004Z

Friday 11th of December was the date for our Christmas party and the great Legacy Habitat Christmas Go-Karting Grand Prix 2009.
Last year's victor Martha Brown was looking nervous before the event, desperate to hold on to her title. Many others were there to try and ensure that she didn't.
This year's event was held at Raceway karting in Pontefract, Yorkshire, a change from last year's Sheffield venue.
After initial warm up rounds, it was in to the competition rounds and Martha was looking strong, winning her first 2 heats. Matt Dixon and I were also doing well. The 3rd heat proved to be the troublesome one for some due to a collision between Martha, Ian Henderson and I in which Martha claimed to have sustained an injury. I suspect her confidence was now waning and was looking to prepare an excuse.
The collision helped set the starting grid positions for the final which were to end up deciding the outcome of the competition. Matt in pole, me in 2nd and Martha in 3rd. Tensions were also building as those involved were out looking for the perpetrator of the collision.
Matt got off to a flying start with me chasing his tail all the way, but just could not overtake, fluffing a corner on the final lap made sure I stayed behind. Martha was struggling to keep up with the front markers, presumably having trouble with that 'injury', and battling it out with Ian for 3rd and 4th place.
The racing was over and it was time to hear the final results:
3rd place: Martha Brown
2nd place: ..... Matthew Dixon?
1st place: ..... Martyn Werner?
A very strange final placing, and a slightly hollow victory, I can only assume that Matt was somehow penalised for unsportsman-like conduct and causing general mayhem on the track. Anyway, the judge's decision was final and that was good enough for me ;-)
Rob Fratczak claimed the prize for the fastest lap overall, this remains undisputed.

Despite the argy-bargy, which was all part of the fun, a great afternoon was had by all. This was followed by a lovely meal at Zeugma back in Sheffield and all washed down with a pint or two in the local.

Merry Christmas to all our blog readers and wishing you all a prosperous year in 2010.

Course: Great Crested Newts, Licencing & Mitigation

2009-12-04T08:15:00.001Z

Legacy Habitat Management Ltd are pleased to announce that they will be demonstrating great crested newt fencing installations at the Great Crested Newts, Licencing & Mitigation course run by Amphibian & Reptile Conservation in partnership with Golder Associates and the Field Studies Council.
This event will take place over 3 days from January 19th to 21st at Preston Montford Field Studies Centre.

Training will cover:

Project Planning
An introduction to licence applications
Completion of the Natural England Template for Method Statement to support application for licence in respect of great crested newts (Form WML-A14-2)
Running a mitigation project
Great crested newt fencing demonstration by Legacy Habitat Management Ltd
Project management and completion
Workshop using a local scenario

For further details of this course, please visit the ARC website or download a pdf course brochure.

Legacy Habitat Times - Autumn 2009

2009-11-16T15:36:00.002Z

Our latest Legacy Habitat Times newsletter is now available for download from our news page, along with previous issues:
Click image below:

Providing recent news of our newt fencing, water vole fencing and other wildlife fencing activities. This issue also includes an article on ecology and the law, highlighting some of the issues raised when development impacts on European Protected Species.

New Tools Section on wildlifefencing.co.uk

2009-10-01T10:44:00.002+01:00

wildlifefencing.co.uk now has a tools section for your wildlife fencing needs.
We aim to bring you quality fencing tools at competitive prices. Current product range is small but we are looking at expanding the range in the near future.
Please keep checking the site for new products.

Busy, busy, busy

2009-09-10T16:02:00.003+01:00

Legacy Habitat Management contracting staff have been extremely busy on the ground installing newt fencing over the closing summer months. This time of year is often a very busy time for newt fencing work as the newt trapping window starts to close.

Great Crested Newt trapping can only take place whilst outside temperatures allow. If the temperature drops below 5°C, newts become immobile and cannot be trapped. This means the potential loss of a trapping days, which can in turn hold up any development projects. Developers are often therefore very keen to get any newt fencing projects, with associated trapping, out of the way before colder weather arrives and trapping cannot be completed, thus, possibly delaying a development project until the following spring.

Legacy Habitat Management are pulling out all the stops to meet your newt fencing requirements in these crucial months before the onset of winter.
We have recently carried out newt fencing projects at:

Longcliffe Quarry, Derbyshire
Ashton Vale, Bristol
Northstead Valley, Scarborough
Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Sherringham Shoal, Norfolk
Wentloog, Cardiff

Remember that www.wildlifefencing.co.uk stocks pitfall traps, floats & mammal ladders for your Great Crested Newt trapping projects.

Legacy enters the minute newt fencing market

2009-08-20T16:29:00.014+01:00

... or the mi-newt fencing market!
This rather clever piece of online software transforms photographs so that they appear to be taken using a photography technique called 'Tilt-shift':
http://tiltshiftmaker.com/
Proper tilt-shift photography requires the use of special lenses, that can be very expensive. This software, although possibly considered cheating, can produce some quite nice effects, and seems to work quite well with photographs of newt fencing, often not the most photogenic subject. The effect produces a very shallow depth of field and often makes the subject appear as though it were miniature.
See our examples below:

More information about tilt-shift photography can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt-shift_photography

The Caudon® Clip has arrived

2009-07-28T12:02:00.013+01:00

This product has been designed specifically for use with our Caudon^® Semi-permanent Newt Fencing. Unlike our Permanent Newt Fencing which has the all important top fold permantently welded into the panels, our 1mm thick Semi-permanent newt fencing panels are manufactured as a flat panel with a scored groove along the top of the board to allow the installer to create a top fold with ease themselves.

The Caudon^® Semi-permanent Newt Fencing system provides a robust, flexible and economical newt fencing solution.

The Caudon^® Clip has been developed as a very simple, easy to install fitting to hold this top fold in position. Simply slide the clip onto the top fold portion of the newt fencing panel, fold down and screw the clip and the panel to the wooden supporting post in one process. This creates a very neat and durable top fold and eliminates those annoying gaps in the top fold where panels are joined.

The Caudon^® Clip is available exclusively from www.wildlifefencing.co.uk.

Polaris Challenge

2009-06-19T17:23:00.015+01:00

Last weekend was a first for me, some kind of major undertaking, two days of mountain biking around the Peak picking up preorganised check points. Saturday was a seven hour course and Paul and I decided to go on an "Eastern Loop" starting from Bamford and working our way down to Haddon Hall via Houdskirk, Blacka Moor, Chatsworth etc, then back up to Bamford via Stoney. everything was going OK until I had a burst tyre wall which ultimately cost us time and points because we arrived back late.
Sunday was better, with new tyres and a different route and only five hours to play with we opted for a route through the White Peak going as far south as Tideswell, across to Chapel and up on to Rushop Edge and Mam Tor.
For the first one of these that I've done we did OK finishing a respectable 57th, 155km covered!
We've got a bit to learn tho as the winner Steve Heading had more than double our points tally.
Great thing to do as we got to visit and link up loads of bits of the Peak I had never walked or ridden + I realised just how much of the area I had worked in over the years.
Great views, great weather well organised event. Looking forward to the next one.
click here to view photos from the event

Using Blackberry as Modem for Laptop

2009-06-15T10:57:00.008+01:00

Often working out on site and away from the office it is sometimes necessary to have access to the internet. We can pick up emails via our Blackberry 8310 devices but sometimes need to look at web pages or email attachments in more detail, which can only be done on a decent sized screen.
Our accomodation when we are away often has wireless internet access but this can't always be relied on.
The Blackberry 8310, along with some other models has an in built data-modem that, in theory can achieve download speeds of 115.2kbps, not bad considering we used to all put up with dial-up speeds of 56kbps. Connection speed is very dependent on signal strength.

The following link explains how to set up your laptop so that it can use a Blackberry device as a tethered modem.

HOWTO: BlackBerry As Modem For Laptop

One of the issues that I have found with doing this, is that the USB cable connection into the Blackberry can be very temperamental. Any slight movement of the Blackberry or cable can cause a drop in connection. This seems to be a common complaint and not just my device. The only real solution to this, is to make sure that you position the device on a firm surface where it won't have to be moved,... not always possible when in remote areas and are having to stand on one leg and wave the phone about at the window to get a signal.

Legacy Habitat Times - Latest Newsletter

2009-06-02T11:35:00.006+01:00

Our latest Legacy Habitat Times newsletter is now available for download from our news page, along with previous issues:
Click image below:

Providing recent news of our newt fencing, water vole fencing and other wildlife fencing activities.

Unimog Maintenance

2009-06-02T09:45:00.000+01:00

Its maintenance time again...
"Unimogs are great bits of kit,... if you look after them."
A phrase we have heard many times since taking delivery of our U1600 Mercedes Unimog from Atkinson VOS Ltd.
As with any vehicle of 25 years there is always going to be some issues to address.
Ours had started producing some smoke from the exhaust after working particularly hard on a water vole fencing job in Essex. There was also a fairly strong smell of partially burnt diesel. This called for some examination of the big block of iron at the heart of the beast... the 6 litre, 6 cylinder engine.

First of all, we had to raise the cab to give all-round access to the power unit. Unimogs do have a removeable bonnet and front grill but this only gives partial access to the engine.
On examination we discovered that our Unimog didn't have the necessary hydraulic, hand-pumped ram fitted to raise the cab so we had to use an arrangement of lifting gear and lifting straps to do this job. Suprisingly few pipes, cables and other services required disconnecting before raising the cab. Only the air intake pipe from the air filter, and a couple of heater hoses.

With the cab raised it was possible to get clear access to the top of the engine. We employed our local mechanic, Ryan from 'The Garage' to do the engine work for us. Rocker cover was removed and diesel injectors prised out of the block. These were sent away for testing. Diesel injectors should produce a nice uniform spray pattern, testing showed ours to produce more of a dribble. This clearly explains the smell of partialy burnt diesel and reduced engine performance. New diesel injectors were fitted and diesel filters replaced to help protect these new injectors.

Lowering the cab was more tricky than lifting. First of all we had to ensure that the splined steering column shaft lined up with its other half (The steering column separates when lifting the cab). It was then a case of very gently lowering the cab to its mountings whilst a collegue checked that no wires, pipes, fingers or other bits n bobs were going to be trapped when the cab came to rest.

Once the cab was back sitting on its mountings, the 4 securing bolts on the floor pan, inside the cab, could be put back in place. 3 of the bolts went in ok but one could not be located due to a very slight misalignment of the cab. The cab must have twisted very slightly on its pivot points when lifting. With 3 of the bolts in place, we started the engine and drove a short distance to allow the vibration to seat that cab correctly, enabling the 4th bolt to be fixed.

Rhododendron Control

2009-05-14T14:26:00.005+01:00

Year 4 at Shorne Wood Country Park (Kent County Council) rhododendron control. With one more winter period of removal to complete, things are looking good. Brewers Wood was year one clearance and I was starting to wonder whether we'd ever get on top of regrowth, but this weeks' follow up has been a revelation. There is now very little regrowth from remnant stumps and no signs of seedling regen. Birch, sweet chestnut, ash and oak seedlings abound as well as vigourous ground cover like bramble and bracken.

The woodland rides have been opened up and the entire woodland floor is much lighter with large flushes of bluebell. By year seven all five clerance areas should be rhodi free!
The organic grazing compartment cannot be sprayed and so a five tonne 360 is being used to grub out remnant stumps around the stands of birch and wind blown chestnuts; victims of the 1987 storm.

Caterpillar Skidsteer Track Replacement & Maintenance

2009-04-22T16:00:00.010+01:00

Legacy Habitat Management recently undertook some major overhauling of the running gear on their workhorse Caterpillar Skidsteer 277B. Since owning this machine it has put in many hours hard labour resulting the need to replace the much worn rubber tracks. We decided to undertake this work ourselves and ordered the necessary tracks from Finning (UK) Ltd.

We also had to purchase the appropriate track tensioning tool from Finning as this was missing from our machine.

First process was to jack up the Cat 277B Skidsteer so that each track was clear of the ground by at least 3 inches. The lifting was done with 2 trolley jacks allowing the machine to come to rest on 4 x 2 tonne axle stands, one at each corner of the floor pan.

Tension was released from the track by undoing the bolts on the tensioning wheel. The track tensioning tool was then used to crank the drive sprocket unit forward to give more slack to the rubber track. All bolts holding these units in place had to be soaked in penetrating oil prior before they could be shifted and some had to be grinded off, to be replaced later.

The drive sprocket was then removed to allow for complete removal of the track. Some careful, but forceful ‘crowbaring ‘ was still required to remove the track fully, pulling the track over the front idler set first.

If undertaking these works yourself, be prepared to have a can of worms opened for you at this point. We discovered worn bogie/idler wheel bearings, bogie hubs, which were supposed to be full of hub oil, completely dry and empty, and perished wheel rubber. All of these issues needed addressing before replacing the tracks, we’re hoping not to have these tracks off again for some time, if ever. Make sure you have the means to remove a 5/16” grub screw from the hubs for oiling, a normal allen key may not be suitable, we snapped a few in the process, they are very tight.

After completion of oiling all the hubs and replacing necessary parts it was time to wrestle with the new tracks. Lifting gear is required to move them in to place. Bogie wheel rubbers and the insides of the tracks were coated in washing up liquid to ease the installation of the new tracks. Tracks where lined up alongside running gear and levered into place using crowbars as ‘tyre levers’, locating the track over the front idler wheels first.

After levering the rest of the track in to place, no mean feat, the drive sprocket was reassembled and unit cranked back in to place using the tensioning tool. A number of bolts that had to be ground off for removal were replaced, tracks could then be re-tensioned, we were then good to go............ not quite, next on the list, a leaky water-pump, but that’s another story......

We're "Tweeting"

2009-04-08T12:06:00.008+01:00

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Low Impact Newt Fencing

2009-03-30T12:36:00.006+01:00

Legacy Habitat Management has recently carried out newt fencing works on part of the gas pipeline project for West Burton Power Station. Due to the sensitive nature of ground conditions and top- soil structure in some places, newt fencing had to be installed with as little ground disturbance as possible.

Newt fencing installation methods usually require cutting a trench much wider than the fencing material itself, inserting the fencing and then backfilling the remainder of the trench. This creates unnecessary soil disturbance due to the extra width of the excavated trench.

Legacy Habitat Management has developed an installation system that only requires making a very narrow slot through the top soil in which the newt fence is tightly fitted. This reduces ground disturbance and produces very little spoil, also reducing the need for time consuming back filling. Back filling, can often be the cause of weak points in a newt fence.

Minimal ground disturbance along the fence line can been seen in the above photo of a freshly installed newt fence.

Water Vole Fencing

2009-03-24T16:15:00.003Z

Legacy Habitat Management recently installed 800m of it's water vole fencing system around two ditches for EDF at West Burton Power Station.
The first ditch had to be cleared of its water vole population to allow extension of the ash tip and a newly profiled receptor ditch was fenced and protected with rabbit fencing.
Rigorous standards were required by the client both for the water vole fencing and the H&S systems and proceedures.

wildlifefencing.co.uk stocks "Wildlife Fencing Design Guide"

2009-02-10T14:11:00.009Z

The Wildlife Fencing Design Guide (C646) is an indispensable guide for anyone working in the wildlife fencing sector.
Produced in conjunction with the Highways Agency it provides specifications and construction details for all types of fencing used to control wildlife.
The guide covers topics such as Roadside Fencing, Developing a Wildlife Fencing Strategy, Fencing Fundamentals, Fence Construction, and Wildlife Fencing Specifications for Badger Fencing, Amphibian Fencing/Reptile Fencing, Rabbit Fencing, Otter Fencing, plus more.

To purchase your copy or view further details, visit www.wildlifefencing.co.uk

Welcome to Legacy Habitat Blog

2009-02-09T08:48:00.002Z

Legacy Habitat Blog has been created to keep you updated on news and recent activities relating to Legacy Habitat Management Ltd.
Legacy Habitat Management are one of the UK's leading contractors for wildlife fencing (Great Crested Newt Fencing, Amphibian Fencing, Badger Fencing, Otter Fencing, Water Vole Fencing, Rabbit Fencing, Stock Fencing), Protected Species, Mitigation Works, Invasive Species Control and Conservation Management.
Please visit our website for further details: www.legacy-habitat.co.uk
We also supply wildlife fencing materials, including our very succesful newt fencing systems, via our e-commerce website: www.wildlifefencing.co.uk