Quote:
Originally Posted by acherontia  Pauline - cheers for that.
I'm sure Graham will appreciate it too?
I think it must be hard when locals look at 'newly designated areas' that they used to 'razz ab'aat wi't bikes in'. The lads weren't that unreasonable and I didn't treat them as such . As you say - while the parents pay for the bikes it may be a problem - especially as there are no licence plates.
Besides this - local knowledge must always be listened to.
We saw one other person who was a wealth of information and the insect life there was quite amazing.
I was very happy to be treated with respect (at the end of the day) by the bikers. I'd like to hear that you approve of the 'rucks' being managed as I sometimes worry about over manipulation by over keen recipients of government grants....
Can Of Worms alert.........
Acher |
can of worms indeed
Weeeelllll ............. I'm in two minds about grants and 'improvements' ......... the problem with 'chuck money at it - whatever it maybe - and it will improve it - is seldom true (unless recipients really know what they are doing - another can of worms here!). Time + left to own devices leads to a changing growth anyway (and some interesting growth and species move in and out) ....... grants lead to immediate and radical changes and different stuff moves in and out .........
When the 'rucks' at Pennington where removed/reduced lorry-load at a time a couple of years ago and put through a new procedure to extract the last remnants of coal from them, of course it destroyed the plant life. One of the things to go was Yellowwort - Blackstonia perfoliata which is quite rare in our area (but it would prob have gone in time as birch growth gets going).
The area at Bickerstaffe that local folk have tried to stop being developed is at the min covered in orchids - 20 or 30 are bee orchids and also has farmland birds breeding such as linnet etc and jack snipe in winter.......
In some ways its less destructive to build over land like rucks that has an industrial past than take 'green land' that maybe has been farmland or mossland for hundreds or thousands of years ........ The real problem is property developers develop places - not to make housing and offices cos we need them - but cos its how they earn their money. And lets face it most folk would like to live in a 'nice' place or move to the 'country' and if we do and enough do it then its no longer a nice place or country! Its like putting a 'new by-pass' in that takes you from A to B faster and then stringing buildings along it (new supermarket, MacDonalds etc) and before long its all built up and new roundabouts in it - its no longer a fast route and worse the fields it ran thro are now concreted over ......... its this creeping encroachment I really object to and the attitude of 'what's wrong with boosting the economy with a little bit of progress'........ When what they really mean is - somebody wants to make a disgusting amount of money .........
And before I get any further up on my soap box I'm going to climb off and go and make a coffee
Pauline