Skylark site destruction

[k9]

Originally Posted by k9

Thanks to all for your messages, besides barrowhillbettys wildlife officer email here is our mp and link to dudley webpage.
We are so pleased with all your encouraging emails, thanks so much! k9



MP for dudley
austini@parliament.uk

and website at [url=http://www.dudley.gov.uk]

and a couple more photos

[thes3raph1m]

while i will help you fight i fear i must be the voice of reason.... if its going for housing... then it becomes part of a central government target. so its unlikely you will be able to win..

however, i have a suggestion... make an offer that will suit both parties

as the Skylark is fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to kill, injure or take an adult Skylark, or to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its contents. The only exception is legitimate farming practices that cannot be reasonably delayed, although farming methods can often be modified to reduce the impact on the Skylarks.

use this to your advantage... begin legal action to prevent the development be recording active nest sites in the area... then if they remove the nests they have broken the law...

however this will not stop them as they will probably start development in the wintertime to avoid damaging nests. in farming, the use of a 20 metre strip of non-rotational set aside planted with native grass. perhaps this could be suggested to the developers that if they were to set aside a small portion of land left un-cut (with instructions to the council not to cut and signs put up to stop those blasted street mowers cutting it back you know those big ones that cut every bit of grass they can get their blades on) if they left this land for the skylarks, that we would not oppose the development and that if they sign an agreement to do this (a legally binding one) then we would not oppose them... failing that we oppose them at every turn, bringing legal action into play every winter time to stop development till the birds nest in spring, which protects them until winter when we launch legal action again... putting off development for at least 3 years before leal action begins to fail, at which point simnply standing in front of the machinery would have an effect...

if you want me to propose this to the developers i need to know which developer it is... i also need you to agree not to oppose them if they agree to the set aside

[Barrowhillbetty]

Thank you for that very interesting information!
Here is a link to the website of the main developer who plan 130 houses or apartments, although as confirmed by our local councillor, the council have stated 200 houses will be built on the land so we pressume that another developer will be involved at some point.

Midland Heart - Dudley Extra Care

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Barrowhillbetty

Thank you for that very interesting information!
Here is a link to the website of the main developer who plan 130 houses or apartments, although as confirmed by our local councillor, the council have stated 200 houses will be built on the land so we pressume that another developer will be involved at some point.

Midland Heart - Dudley Extra Care

There may well have been an ecological appraisal produced for this proposal, it might be worth getting hold of a copy to see what their assessment has been. The local planning authority should be able to help you track it down.

I also agree with thes3raph, trying to stop a development on a plot of land that has been allocated for housing within a local plan is like trying to stop a herd of stampedeing bulls, If you just stand in front of them trying to stop them you are very likely to get ignored and flattened, you may want to consider a 'plan b' where you give the stampeding developers a different way out for example if they provide funds to the local wildlife truust to improve conditions within exsiting reserves for skylark - or even to buy extra land - you won't give them so much grief.

I totally appreciate this is not the scenraio you want, that really you want to preserve this portion of land but perhaps if it starts to look like you won't suceed, it is better to get something for wildlife than nothing.

[Wild-Woman]

Go to the press with your story, be passionate delivering it and get any councillor who will listen, out to the area and try reasoning with them. Have you got a local Green candidate that may use their voice too?