The
fate of Chalky, the white stag, his herd and other wildlife pals now lie in the
hands of Corby Borough Council.
The
councillors have to decide whether or not to grant planning permission for a
'resource recovery park'. If this gets
the go ahead, 50 hectares of established trees will be destroyed.
These
include significant stands of broadleaved varieties - oak, hazel, sycamore,
poplar and elder - and coniferous trees including Scots pine, Corsican pine,
European larch and Norway spruce.
Brookfield
Plantation is home to 85 protected and notable species, including great crested
newts, badgers, bats, red kite and grass snakes.
There's
other wildlife too, with bumblebees, hedgehogs, lizards, dragonflies,
damselflies, crickets, grasshoppers, butterflies, toads, frogs, rabbits, foxes
and spiders.
Understandably,
given all of the above, Brookfield Plantation is a designated Local Wildlife
Site.
It's
had what you might call a chequered past, in that there are said to be unknown
materials buried beneath it from its British Steel days. The expression about not digging up the past
is usually meant metaphorically, but in this case I feel it might be wise to
take it more literally.
Fortunately
nature has reclaimed it over time, and it now supports a varied ecosystem, with
the trees acting as a 'lung' to absorb pollutants.
Opposition
to the 'resource recovery park' is nothing to do with NIMBYism - it's to do
with protecting the environment and doing the right thing for our children and
their futures. We are temporary
caretakers of this land - it's our duty to protect it and the wildlife it
supports.
To
this end I've written articles, a poem, a children's story, attended a protest
march and meetings, written to the council, the MP and the newspaper, delivered
leaflets, set up the 'Save Chalky and his Brookfield Plantation Friends'
Facebook page, and proudly worn a 'Save Chalky' t-shirt.
If
you also want to keep the trees, please tell your friends, family and
neighbours, and make sure the council knows your opposition before it's too
late.
Borrowing
from Joni Mitchell, you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone, they want to
pave paradise...
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