Dear Sir,
I read with horror your report in the West Leeds Dispatch about plans by National Grid to sell part of Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve, with a guide price of just £500.
During the height of the pandemic last year, the nature reserve became a place for many Armley, Burley and Kirkstall residents to spend time, reflecting and taking walks and exercise during lockdown.
I’m devastated to hear that it’s up for auction later this month with a guide price of £500 and do hope the council’s efforts to buy the site are successful.
How can something like this just creep up on us? If something like this was happening I would have thought we would have had some communication about it.
The site is home to more than 130 species of plants and 65 species of birds – and that’s not including all the insects and other wildlife that lives there.
Local green spaces are vital, particularly during these perilous times of climate emergency.
The irony that we are having to worry about losing part of this land at the same time the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference is happening in Glasgow beggars belief.
I’d urge everyone to follow the #SaveKirkstallValleyNR hashtag on Twitter and kick up as big a fuss as possible. It’s time to shout and get noisy to save part of our beautiful green space in the Kirkstall Valley.
C O’Connor, via e-mail
Grey wagtail #SaveKirkstallValleyNR pic.twitter.com/aJIzofAM2p
— Samantha Stewart (@pampam256) November 5, 2021