Kendal's
Strawberry Field and its Lapwings
- by Henry Adams, Ecological Consultant, Kendal
infox@dragonfly1.plus.com
Overall
summary and hub page - for this group of topics:
All
of this field is under threat of loss, and over a fifth of it -
imminently. It urgently
needs at least a count of the number of people who want it saved. This page aims firstly to help
you easily become one of its counted supporters (and to strengthen
your
support with comments if you so wish), and to allow you to enable your
friends to do so too. It also aims to provide you with further
information about the field, its existing assets and future threats.
Facebook page 'Kendal
Strawberry Field and its
Lapwings'
< click and 'like' page
to help save field from destruction
The
aims of the Facebook page are:
1.
to increase awareness
of these wonderful assets, which are being ignored or politically
'down-played'
by pro-development interests, and:
2.
to give those who
value its present features a place to show how much they do so.
NB: By
simply 'liking' the
facebook page you can quickly add strength in numbers and 'solidarity'.
Also do
'like'
any features portrayed that you hope won't be lost. If you don't
want
page
updates from there to your Facebook feed then just do the latter, but
you may miss major updates, such as the inspector's decision.
It
is hoped that those
with power to influence the future of this site will have regard to the
site's
existing qualities and the strength of support for these, so that their
thinking can redirect towards maintaining these not replacing them with
development of higher monetary value though lower overall 'well-being'
value.
Certainly
the field's manager Christine Bell has been very aware and very
supportive of the natural assets of the Strawberry field for many
years, and these assets have been very dependent on her sensitive
methods of management for PYO fruit and veg. However the owner,
planners, councillors, developers, consultants also have an influential
involvement in the site's future.
This html page has
pasted onto it the full text on the Facebook page - useful for those
who
can't easily access Facebook.
If you can't access
Facebook but want to register your support for liking any
or all of the existing features of Kendal's Strawberry field and its
lapwings (and hoping they can be maintained) please email me at:
infox@dragonfly1.plus.com
< copy and paste
VIDEO of KSF lapwings - 1 minute video clip
of Kendal's Strawberry
field lapwings
by Dave
Weatherley
- inspiring. I hope Dave films the tumbling display too some
time.
PHOTOS of KSF - My
PHOTOS of Kendal's Strawberry
field
2013 Inquiry
- The June 2013 Inquiry <<<
click for fuller details. Summary below:
The
inquiry concerned a proposed housing development in the “Green
Triangle” at the SE edge of Kendal, which would destroy at least
a fifth of the
Strawberry field (which has
supported breeding lapwings for many years). I was acting as an
independent ecological consultant
‘witness’ to support
both Dennis Reed’s larger contribution as Chairman of TOG
- the Triangle Opposition Group,
Kendal, as well as my own independent assessment as a consultant -
though must admit an interest as a resident living in SE Kendal - and
thus having a strong concern for the well-being of living things that
reside here (species including Homo
sapiens). However - by agreement with Dennis Reed my role in the
inquiry was confined to the Lapwings of the Strawberry field and the
wildlife and site features on which they depend. (Most of the area
covered by the development proposal would be the green
field to the North-West of the Strawberry field - a significant
proportion of the green gap between Kendal and Oxenholme).
My submission to
Inquiry Inpector re KSF Lapwings
My talk at the
Inquiry: pdf of text with 'slides'
Inspector's decision and subsequent
events, news etc
Inspector's decision: no compromise Osborne/pro-development
ITV News: 4nov13 Report by Fiona Marley Paterson: Kendal homes decision debated - ITV News - When
broadcast at c. 22:30hrs it was shortened (gutted) by removing all the
tiny amount of wildlife content - so it became a pro-housing piece -
with the fragments of TOG side devoid of any substance so as to look
like merely a ridiculous nimby no-to-everything.
I will be adding other relevant links
to both my pages and other people's/orgs when I have time.
In the longer term at least half of the field is under threat from
being levelled and converted to a large tarmacced car-park, a 2-storey
building including night-club and rugby facilities, and lit-up playing
fields. Amazing these are all considered compatible to being part of
the green gap.
The Rugby Club need to be aware of the strength of support for the
Strawberry Field as it is now - and for them to get the money they need
to improve the facilities where they are at present (NE Kendal).
Inspector's decision
Back
in 2011:
10dec11 Letter from Henry Adams
to SLDC Planning in response to LAND AT OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, including
the “Strawberry Field” – a lapwing breeding site, re
DEVELOPMENT: EXTENSION
TO TIME CONDITION ON PLANNING PERMISSION SL/2008/1220 (engineering ops
re Rugby Club’s plans), REF. NUMBER:
SL/2011/0896
http://www.dragonfly1.plus.com/LetterHenryAdamsToSLDCreStrawberryFieldandLapwings2011.pdf
Parts
of my April 2011 submission to SLDC Planning
re land allocations (here as 2 pdfs):
Green Gap &
Strawberry field: The Kendal-Oxenholme Green
Gap (R120, ON1, M2M, RN133M)
Green Gap & Strawberry field (more photos):
R120, ON1, RN133M, M2M: Panorama from The Helm, showing
the landscape importance of the Kendal-Oxenholme Green Gap