RECLAIMING THE WASH

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3614, 18 November 1924, Page 7

RECLAIMING THE WASH

Preparations for the reclamation of kind on the Wash have now been begun J writes a correspondent of the London ‘Times’), and it is anticipated that in two or three weeks’ time the work will lie actually started. The scheme is part of the Government programme for the relief oi unemployment, but its initiation lias been largely due to the efforts of Lieutenantcolonel Woodwark, the member for King’s Lynn. Although it is stated that nearly live thousand acres of sea-swept soil are ready for reclamation, for the present the work is to be confined to between 400 and 500 acres of Crown land at WinglauU about four miles from the village of lerrington, near King’s Lynn. Part of the area is iu Lincoln and part in Norfolk. If the experiment proves a success, operations on a, larger scale will doubtless follow at a later date. The amount ol the- present contract is understood to he about £15,000. The land selected is covered with a. rich alluvial sea deposit, in some places to a depth of between 3ft and 4ft, and is thus extremely suitable for use after reclamation as agricultural land. The work is being carried out by a wellknown Norfolk firm of contractors, and only the most modern machinery specially adapted for the purpose will be used. It is estimated that it will lie at least a year before all the 500 acres are enclosed. Some idea of the difficulty of the work will be gathered when it is realised that across the 500 acres -run two creeks, one of which is no less than 22yds wide, i These will, of course, have to he filled up. The main idea of the scheme is to build a new bank to a height of about 2211 above sea-level by teams of tractors and special “scooping” apparatus, starting from a point jn the 1871 hank and stretching in a westerly direction for a mile ami aquarter. The new bank will then continue in a south-westerly direction, and after crossing the two creeks will meet a recent extension of another bank built in 1869. j After the work of enclosing the 500 1 acres has been completed it is proposed that the land shall be laid down to grass and graze for a couple of years, after which it will be ploughed up by specially deep . steam cultivators, and will then he available for use as arable laud. Kxperts I anticipate that iu about three years’ time this laud will be worth upwards of £IOO ! per acre.