When my familyfirst moved to Sustead in 1994, the land that is now known as Sustead Common and Sustead Surveyor’s Allotment was wild and unkempt. It was impossible to enter the southern end of the Surveyor’s Allotment because of the dense clumps of  Blackthorn; while the other part, south of the beck, was a swampy piece of land. Sustead Common was a small triangle of land, often used for a couple of ponies to graze on. None of this was considered public land, despite the name given to the common. And on the other side of the road, what is now called Spurrell’s Wood was a relatively newly planted wood, privately owned by Richard and Inge Spurrell of Thurgarton Hall. We did venture into this wood to walk dogs but knew that it wasn’t public land.

There is a lot of uncertainty as to what and where the common was. The OS map from the early 1900s has Sustead Common clearly marked as the patch of land to the west of the road – what is now Spurrell's Wood. But in 1848, the Apportionment map has that area down as 'grazing ground' and the Common Pasture is to the east of the road – what is now Sustead Common and the Surveyor's Allotment. Historically this site would have been used frequently by the local community forming a significant resource. Traditional use had ceased by the 1970s.

The Sustead Cluster comprises four sites: Sustead Common, owned by the National Trust and maintained by Felbeck Trust on a 10-year licence; the Surveyor's Allotment, owned by NNDC and maintained by Felbeck Trust under a 99-year lease; the Roadside Nature Reserve (RNR), owned by NCC; and Spurrell's Wood, mixed woodland of nearly five acres, purchased by Felbeck Trust in 2018 after a one-year campaign to raise the funds.

The cluster forms an attractive and diverse landscape, comprising a mosaic of habitats including former grazing meadow, tussock grass scrub, traditional hedgerows, blackthorn thicket and mature trees. The five-acre wood is a mixture of ancient Oak, Hazel coppice and more recent plantings of native English trees including Hornbeam, Ash and Cherry. There is a rich scrub under-storey and remnants of original grassland, supporting a variety of orchid species. The site, bordered by traditional hedgerows and damp ditches, is bisected by the Gur Beck, a chalk stream tributary of Scarrow Beck – part of the Upper River Bure catchment.

The habitat restoration work completed by Felbeck Trust has transformed the overgrown and neglected area, 'helping to restore and improve the Norfolk countryside for the benefit of wildlife and to provide places for peaceful enjoyment for local communities and visitors alike'.

Bramble & scrub clearance has been carried out, creating grassland and wildflower meadow at the Common and Surveyor’s Allotment and “The Ride” in Spurrell’s Wood. Defined pathways have been created to improve access, whilst safeguarding the flora and fauna of the site. A bridge now connects the Common to the Surveyors Allotment. Two winter flooding scrapes have been created to filter road and    agricultural run-off, working with Norfolk Rivers Trust and contributing to the National Trust Riverlands Project.    Over 100 bird and bat boxes have been erected. A programme of coppicing in Spurrell’s wood is allowing light to penetrate by reducing the tree canopy, encouraging growth of wildflowers from the seed bank. The Roadside Nature Reserve has been extended to afford additional protection.

Thanks to this habitat management effort and the work of local specialist wildlife experts to record nature’s flora and fauna there, the cluster obtained County Wildlife Site status in 2019.

In total, 10 species of bat, 21 species of butterfly and 354 species of moth have been recorded at the Sustead Cluster. Early Purple Orchid, Common Spotted Orchid, Norfolk Comfrey and Black Spleenwort are among the rarer plants found there. An Otter has also been seen and there have been regular sightings of Woodcock, Bullfinch, Marsh Tit, Yellowhammer, and Snipe.

On a personal note, all of the Sustead sites provide me and my family with a wonderful resource for dog-walking (although not in Spurrell's Wood); for bird-watching, with two bird screens – one on the Common (which sometimes doubles as an outdoor classroom for the Aylmerton Field Study Centre) and one in Spurrell's Wood, overlooking one of the two scrapes dug out to improve the water quality of both Gur Beck and the run-off from surrounding fields and roads; and for quiet contemplation, making use of the benches scattered across the sites. Sustead is the richer for the on-going improvement of the Sustead sites.

We will continue with our work with particular emphasis on improving the flow and water quality of Gur Beck; on maintaining areas of grassland and open, sunny stretches for the benefit of butterflies; on maintaining bird and bat boxes, and keeping careful records through our bat experts and our bird ringing team.

In addition, we very much hope to be able to contribute to increasing the connections between our sites and other areas – above all, the road running north towards Felbrigg's woods, which currently lacks hedgerows.

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