Lightmoor Action Group News.
Fighting to save a green corner of Telford, Shropshire UK.
Autumn-Winter 1998 News:
Central News sent along a camera crew to meet us on site at Lightmoor - we spent a nice morning viewing the site - with a good turnout from our group, considering it was a working day. We took them around the prime site and the area supposedly 'brown field' site for development. They interviewed our members and shot some film of the area. The weather also was on our side - despite heavy rain the day before - the morning was breezy and warm. Apparently this is going to be used in a 4-minute slot in Central News - when they have done an interview with BVT.
We had a meeting recently - but as we are waiting for a reply to a request to meet up with representatives with BVT and a site visit one at that! We could not yet move forward on other things we have planned for them. If they are just ignoring us, hoping we will go away - well - we have no intention of that - LAG is not going away.
Ove-Arup report is here - titled 'LIGHTMOOR NEW BOURNVILLE PROJECT - ECOLOGICAL REPORT' A 100-plus page document with survey data and summaries of this 'desk study' and fieldwork. The group has been studying the document and has been putting together a list of errors together to send to the authors. Our first comments on the report are at this
web page Please contact us or Ove-Arup with any comments.
Summer 1998 News:
Just before the Ove-Arup report is due out, the Charlton School in Wellington, Shropshire broke the news of rare newts living within an area that would be effected by any development. We have been saying the same for some time now, but as a 'presure group' our views have been apparently ignored. The ensuing Newspaper and TV coverage has caused BVT to react quickly - promising to build further away. Birmingham - we hope! Lightmoor should be retained as a natural resource for now and the future for all of Shropshire - not some elitist project to suit long-term publicity aims of BVT. Follow this link for a copy of the
Charlton School Report. We hope to include their Excel field data soon. We thank the Charlton School for letting us have a copy of the report. We understand it was distributed to other interested parties - we hope they take notice.
Mid-April News:
Ove Arup, a major company are going to do a 'desktop' Environmental Impact study which in thier own words will be a 'desktop' study. It will take into account some interesting documents, including our own study, the Archeological and Historical study (use link above) and the results of the public meetings and numerous other related documents. We feel that the 'desktop' study is just not enough - despite the useful evidence in the paper to be shuffled, so we are going to push for a full EIS.
The study on Lightmoor which has come to light is quite substantial we have put a copy on-line. It will take some time to load but has been laid out with internal links to aid quick movement around the document. The document has had HTML added in to aid viewing but otherwise remains as supplied. Any changes are accidental and unnoticed in the scanning process. (Please let us know if you find any inconsistencies). If you are interested or come from Lightmoor the document is most interesting.
Staying with local interest - We intend to compile a Lightmoor document based on memories, documents, information, pictures and anything else anyone would like to send us please e-mail us initially. We hope to quickly record the local conditions curently and create some record to point out to people the obvious losses should development happen.
Our next meeting is on 19th May, please contact us if you are interested in helping.
February 16 & April 7th (continued):
Environmental Impact Study to take place.
Greater Crested Newts found
Finally, Important meeting later this month.
We were pleased to hear of an environmental impact study that will take place early this year, we hope the results undermine any development plans for the area, we are waiting on the results. In April Greater Crested newts were seen in a pool near to the planned development site, we are trying to contact various interested parties over this, as the newts could have a major effect of plans.
We are going to round up members a re-appraise LAG; we are going to contact as many as possible for 8pm of 21st April. Finally, congratulations go out to one of our members, boxer Ritchie Woodhall, who became 'World Super-Middleweight on the 27th March. Also to Hadley Environmental Defence Group when it recently heard that Blockleys PLC had dropped plans for a huge landfill site at Hadley quarry. People power can work - well at least still influence for the best.
Late-Jan 1998:
Telford InfoCity website links to us.
We call for proper independent ecological impact study!
19th January:
First meeting for '98, Still confident
We want a full Environmental Impact Study - an Independent one! Is there something in the 7.1 outline plan that will make this development too expensive for to develop for industry or housing? There are plenty of real 'brownfield' sites still to clear up.
Not downhearted at all, we all brought plenty of ideas to the meeting and a local FOE representative came along to give us some advice and report back. It was cited in the Shropshire Star in early January, BVT have said 'lengthy ecological and ground tests must be tried during the next 12 months before it could start work on proposals at Lightmoor'. We believe that the ecology and natural history of most of the land is so important that only a full and independant environmental impact study is necessary, and are using our contacts to press for this. In addition to this we think part of the 7.1 plan could force a reduction in amount of housing planned by about a third, hopefully rendering the whole development too expensive. Finally we discussed some actions, based on the success of other action groups.
9th December:
Newspaper reports BVT to '..press on with urban village', So our fight goes on!
It was reported in Tuesday's Shropshire Star, a local newspaper that BVT are discussing buying the land at Lightmoor with the intention of building a 'Millennium village'. The paper reported that the Trust had agreed to an environmental study into the impact of the 'village' on the area. If there is going to be a study, - who is going to pay for it? More usefully it could be a savior of the land, despite the outline planning permission.
8th December:
Today is Bourneville Trusts chance to drop this project!
At a meeting tomorrow the BVT members meet to decide on whether they will be continuing this project or to abandon it. Well, we hope they do. A suggestion to Bournville - use your money to invest in PRESERVING the area - you will keep your RESPECT that way!
7th December:
Pictures added to the web page.
On Sunday afternoon two pages that contain site photographs have been scanned and uploaded to the web site. - Please take time to look at them, that area may be changed for good soon - but we hope not. Note - the pictures were scanned as two whole pages to keep the report complete, (should you want to print it out, that is) so the file size of the pages are rather large. (Just over 100k each to those who understand) So the two pages will take longer to arrive, but the are well worth looking at.
16th November:
'Walk for Lightmoor' A Success.
We had a walk around the lanes and tracks that are going to be disturbed by the potential development, this morning. Despite the constant threat of rain, a group of between 40 and 50 people enjoyed the late-autumn conditions accompanied by horse riders and plenty of dogs (taking their owners for a walk). Despite our invite BVT never turned up, but a photographer from Shropshire Star took photographs at the start of the walk, with local boxer Richie Woodhall leading the crowd. There should be a feature or picture at least in Monday’s paper. BBC Radio Shropshire turned up, late, and ended up interviewing Gail, part the way along a narrow lane. We think today was a success, really usefull things, like passing on of information and potential ideas were traded while avoiding some of the deeper pools. People enthusiatically signed the petition left on the stand setup at the start/end of the walk, the fresh air has boosted our health, our support and our enthusiasm and we will continue to put pressure to save this landscape for the future.
November 13th:
Support received
We have received support from John W. Wilkinson of the International Coordinator, Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force at Department of Biology, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes. He has written to the Shropshire Star who featured this in a column on the 13th of November. John suggested we link to his web site and also to a picture of a Greater Crested Newt at the same site. Please try them - at the bottom of this page.
Please contact us - discuss, help, suggest or whatever - Thank you.
Try these links.
| 'Virtual Shropshire' Guide. | Coalport Action Group | Madeley town's Site |
LAG links and information.