No shortage of rubbish to be cleared from Speckled Wood. Before…

Ready to push ahead with Speckled Wood plans

Ore Community Land Trust (CLT) recently passed an important milestone in their plans for Speckled Wood: they are now constituted as a charity, which should facilitate the task of seeking funding. This weekend they have organised a big spring clean of the wood. Nick Terdre reports. Photos by Karen Fullalove.

The spring clean is scheduled for Saturday 18 March as part of the Great British Spring Clean – a nationwide campaign to get people clearing up ‘the litter that blights our towns, villages, countryside and coastline.’

…and after.

Volunteers have already begun collecting rubbish and stockpiling it in Church Street. It will be disposed of in a skip provided by the council.

Members of Ore CLT see Saturday’s spring clean as an opportunity to meet new people who support their ambition of making Speckled Wood an urban woodland and green space for community use where wildlife can flourish.

The group also has the backing of the council. “Hastings Borough Council has formally recognised Ore CLT as its preferred partner in helping to turn the woodland into a community-owned amenity,” Ore CLT chairman Tony Polain, tells HOT. “The council intends to transfer its holdings in the wood to us and assist in acquiring further plots of land.”

Ore CLT becomes a CIO

Ore CLT has become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), a form of legal entity specifically designed for non-profit organisations. Its nine-strong board of trustees is now working on a plan to raise funds to be used in acquiring more land and implementing its various projects, Mr Polain says.

These include forming an expanded village green with facilities for holding a variety of local events, making an area of land available for community food growing, setting up a woodland management team to plan and improve the health of the wood – and looking into the possibility of creating ponds and other water features.

The group also has a goal of making part of the area a section of the Hastings Greenway – a public walk along the proposed route was held in January.

It says it will work with Heart of Hastings CLT to acquire and manage designated green spaces in the Lower Ore Valley.

Speckled Wood Spring Clean Saturday 18 March, 10am-4pm. Meet in Church Street, Ore, Clifton Road end. Wear boots and old clothes and bring gardening gloves if you have them.

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