100 signatures reached
To: Natural England
Save our Hay Meadow in Warwickshire, and Say No to Secret Decision-Making
Review their decision to allow the farmer to plough our local wildlife site in Keresley Village - it is a beautiful hay meadow, much beloved of walkers, children, dogs and flower-lovers.
Stop secret decision making. The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has strongly urged that this site is worth saving, but Natural England is refusing to say why they are giving the farmer permission to plough it - which will destroy it forever. They just keep saying that it is not significant, but will not say what process they have followed, and what criteria they have applied.
Why is this important?
The hay meadow is a beautiful and special place to be and well-used by children, walkers and dog-walkers, flower-lovers and others. It feels like an old friend, to me and many other people.
Hay meadows are threatened in Britain and we need to preserve as many as possible. Once one is gone, it is gone forever.
It is part of the green belt that forms a 'green lung' for Coventry and other nearby urban areas.
Natural England should not make decisions about community resources like our field in secret. In law we have a democratic right to have environmental information, to participate in environmental decisions, and to have access to low- cost environmental justice. This is enshrined in an International UN treaty which is law in this country - the Aarhus Convention. This is a problem for all of us, near and far, if decisions about nature conservation are made in secret, without publicly available evidence.
Tell Natural England that they need to give us the rules, and criteria; they need to give us their reasons and evidence and they need to offer us an independent appeal process where we disagree with their decisions.
