Ore’s green space under threat

Time is running out to save Ore from the threat of losing virtually all the green space it has left – which is not much. If that sounds a dismal prospect, campaigners say, let the council know what you think by Friday 27 April.

The area of green space in Ore has dwindled steadily over the years – of course green space has been lost all over the country – but has now reached the point where it is close to disappearing, as the illustration below makes plain.

The sole surviving green space of any extent is Speckled Wood, which currently has an unprotected status and is largely available for housing development – planning permission has already been granted for one housing scheme.

But this status can be changed in the new Development Management Plan which the council is drawing up, and which will determine what uses local land is put to.

“We want the whole of the Speckled Wood area to be designated as green space,” says Richard Street of the Ore Community Land Trust (www.orecommunitylandtrust.org.uk/).

The trust urges everyone who wants Ore to retain its small area of green space to let the council know – as part of its consultation on the Development Management Plan, everyone is entitled to give their opinion about the designation given to this or that area.

A form letter to the council is available from the trust – send an email to ore.clt@hotmail.com for a copy.

This sheet shows the rate of local greenspace loss in Ore Valley and Ore Village since 1817. Much of Ore Valley was originally wooded but the increasing pressure from housing and local development has been dramatic. The loss of more greenspace means Ore Valley is at risk of losing most of its special leafy character and sense of local identity. The local community in Ore Village see a protected Speckled Wood as the centre piece of a new neighbourhood Plan, that is supported by Ore Community Land Trust, Ore Valley Forum, Ore in Bloom, Ore Valley Womens Institute, Hastings Urban Bikes and others interested groups.

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