1,000 signatures reached
To: Wiltshire Council, Salisbury City Council, and John Glen MP
Save Salisbury's Wildflower Meadow
Say no to the proposed GP surgery being built on the wildflower meadow near Lime Kiln Way, and select one of the other 17 proposed sites instead.
Why is this important?
The building of a three-story GP surgery is being proposed to replace three of the four surgeries in Salisbury, with the favoured location situated south of Lime Kiln Way to the west of Odstock Road, grid reference SU145282.
Just three years ago the proposed site was designated a County Wildlife Site, and it supports a large population of wildflowers, insects, and birds. This site is of great importance not just because of its beauty and the luxury of having a patch of natural meadow on Salisbury’s doorstep, but also due to the sad fact that in the last 70 years Britain has lost 97% of its wildflower population[1]. Even if you do not have a particularly strong feeling towards wildflowers, you must appreciate the sheer importance of having a site like this to support insects and the birds that depend on them.
Other options for the site’s location include the now-empty Friends Provident buildings in Castle Street, and the agricultural field directly opposite the proposed site, to the east of Odstock road. In total there are 17 proposed sites, with Lime Kiln Way being preferred presumably because it is cheaper to build on as it is owned by the Council.
This proposed site will inevitably lead to increased traffic at the already highly-congested Harnham interchange, which would in turn lead to difficulties getting ambulances to and from Salisbury District Hospital as residents would need to get buses or taxis to get there. Though we all understand the need for a new surgery in Salisbury, our argument is that the currently-favoured site is not suitable.
As a local resident I have seen many oil beetles there (three of the UK’s native oil beetles are extinct, and the remaining five species are on the decline[2]), among the numerous species of wildflowers, and the Red Bartsia Bee is also a resident to the site. The land surrounding the site supports breeding birds such as the curlew, lapwing, snipe, redshank, and turtle doves. This is a small, precious refuge of natural green space that is incredibly rare to find in a city – especially one undergoing concentrated housing development like Salisbury.
On behalf of my fellow residents in Harvard Heights and East Harnham (both areas share boundaries to the Lime Kiln Way site), I implore Salisbury City Council and local MP John Glen to look more closely into more suitable, alternative locations, and preserve the rare habitat that we can still enjoy in Salisbury. The Lime Kiln Way site offers a sanctuary for flora and fauna to thrive in an area left largely undisturbed by human activity, and future generations will be thankful for us having protected it.
Thank you for taking the time to consider this petition.
Gregory Nicholson
References:
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20150702-why-meadows-are-worth-saving
also, http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/habitats/lowland-meadows
[2] https://www.buglife.org.uk/campaigns-and-our-work/oil-beetles
