Marina receives celebrity praise - Burton Mail reports

CELEBRITY conservationist David Bellamy has sent personal congratulations to Willington's Mercia Marina for achieving its fifth gold conservation award in five years. The 74-acre marina received the David Bellamy gold award from the British Holiday and Home Parks Association, of which Professor Bellamy is president. The awards recognise holiday parks for work they have done to protect or enhance the natural environment or wildlife. Mercia Marina, which qualified for the scheme five years ago when it launched its holiday lodges, is one of only 20 venues in the UK to have won five consecutive gold awards, out of 560 which have sought accreditation. Robert Neff, general manager of Mercia Marina, said: "We're delighted once again to have received the top award. "We are particularly pleased with such high praise from Professor Bellamy. "Since we opened the marina in 2008, we have always been totally committed to ensuring our development not only complements our beautiful natural surroundings but that we actually improve the conservation of the site and surrounding area. "It's a job which is always ongoing, and it's fantastic that our hard work has been recognised in this way." The assessors analyse everything from planting scheme and wildlife management to waste recycling, light pollution and promotion of local products. Mercia Marina can accommodate more than 630 boats, making it the largest inland marina in Europe. It took two weeks to fill the marina with the required 150 million litres of water. It was recently granted permission for 180 residential boats.

The Boardwalk at Mercia Marina wins ‘Building of the Year ‘award

The Boardwalk at Mercia Marina has been named Britain’s Best Small Commercial Building at the Grand Final of the LABC Building Excellence Awards – one of the most prestigious events in the building industry’s calendar. The announcement follows successes at the East Midlands regional LABC award ceremony in July, where The Boardwalk was also voted overall winner among all categories. At the national award ceremony in London this week, the marina’s £1.7m Boardwalk development beat the likes of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, in London, which was designed by world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid. A panel of industry experts judged a list of the highest quality projects from around England and Wales to reward the best in technical innovation, sustainability and design. The Boardwalk, which was built for Mercia Marina by Derby-based Davlyn Construction, opened in October 2014 and consists of boutique shops and offices with a two storey bar and restaurant. The judges were impressed by the lengths the team had gone to, including the production of a brand new type of timber cladding to achieve the rough time-worn appearance that was required. Robert Neff, general manager at Mercia Marina, near Willington, South Derbyshire, said: “We are truly overwhelmed to not only have won the regional award but to have gone up against some hugely iconic competition to take the national award too. It’s a stunning achievement. “This is great recognition indeed for all the careful thought and hard work that went into constructing a building that, first and foremost, needed to sit comfortably within the natural environment of the marina.” Mr Neff added that the success of The Boardwalk was thanks in part to the excellent working relationship between the marina, South Derbyshire District Council and Davlyn Construction. LABC, which holds its building excellence awards annually, represents all local authority building control teams in England and Wales. LABC Chief Executive Paul Everall said: “This project is an excellent example of how a building can reflect the environmental context in which it is located. The development fronts onto a raised wooden walkway offering terrific views of the water, boats and wildlife and the prows of boats have been incorporated into the final design. The result is a beautiful building that encompasses sympathetic and innovative design in addition to providing excellent facilities to the local area. “Our building excellence awards are an opportunity for the trade to celebrate good practice. Our winners demonstrate how positive working relationships with local council building control teams achieve high quality, sustainable buildings. Our awards are unique because they recognise how this cooperation improves building standards and professionalism across the industry.” The leader of South Derbyshire District Council, Cllr Bob Wheeler, said: "We are delighted with the success in these prestigious national awards. "It recognises the role played by our Building Control team in maintaining good communication between all of the parties involved. Strong cooperation between our team, the architect and the construction company provided the sound foundation for an award-winning project." The Grand Final of the LABC Building Excellence Awards took place on Tuesday, November 10 at the Lancaster London hotel, and was hosted by comedian and impressionist, Jon Culshaw. Over 650 building industry professionals including contractors, architects and engineers attended the celebration to find out which projects won across the 14 hotly contested categories. ENDS For more information about the Grand Final of the LABC Building Excellence Awards, visit: http://www.labc.co.uk/awards/2015/final

Canada Goose

The ubiquitous Canada Goose now has a competitor at Mercia Marina! The pictures show an Asian Bar Headed Goose. Other than also being a goose, the similarity with Canada Geese end there! The Asian Bar Headed Geese are: 1. Very rare in the UK – only 5 breeding pairs were recorded in the UK by the Rare Bird Breeding Panel on the last survey, albeit that was in 2002. It is likely that the one we have is an escapee! 2. As the name suggests, Asian Bar Headed Geese’s normal habitat is Central Asia and they winter as far south as southern India. Canada Geese’s normal habitat seems to be Branston. 3. Asian Bar Headed Geese fly over the Himalayas when migrating, including over Mount Everest at 30,000 feet. Canada Geese here have just learnt to fly over 3 foot fences. 4. The Asian Bar Headed Goose is often kept in captivity as they are considered beautiful. Only their own mother’s love Canada Geese. 5. The feral population of Asian Bar Headed Geese is declining due to predation. The population of Canada Geese appears to be ever-expanding!

Canalside Wildflower Meadow and rare Bee Orchids

Last year we created Mercia’s first wildflower meadow. It’s changing beauty throughout the year as flowers died off and new ones came on, surprised and delighted us all. That Wildflower Meadow is already showing good promise for this summer. The pictures, taken by Jo James and Jules, show the new Wildflower Meadow at the water entrance to the marina.

Wild Times

One of most fascinating aspects of the marina now, as well as over the past 6+ years, is how the flora and fauna have thrived. This success is recognised by Mercia having been awarded Gold Conservation Awards by the renowned conservationist David Bellamy for the past 4 years.