LETTER: Greenfield Local Nature Reserve improvements

1) The hide/hut is not left open for the public to use. There is a very good reason why we have to keep it locked. We store tools and equipment there. The Friends of Greenfield LNR have had to repair damage caused by vandals and make the building more secure. If the complainant wants access, s/he should contact us and join us when it is open.

2) The pond has too many rushes. It is normally thinned out and cleaned once a year and will be over the winter or spring. We have to rely on the services of volunteers and Pendle Environmental Action Group to do this.

3) There are broken strands of barbed wire between Greenfield Road and the borders of the Local Nature Reserve. We are fully aware of this and are taking measures to replace the old wire fencing and posts with bushes/trees, which have been ordered from the Woodland Trust, as well as clearing the adjacent undergrowth to plant a wild flower meadow.

Since the Friends of Greenfield LNR was reformed a few years ago, a number of improvements have been made to the reserve, such as creating the hide/hut, the pond walkway and a network of circular paths; tree planting and maintenance; building a wooden circular henge, which provides an environmental study and activity space; as well as clearing rubbish dumped by the public and restoring the earth after illegal hunting with dogs. We are also undertaking an extensive woodland management plan, as the LNR includes a one hectare wood on the other side of road, which has been neglected since it was planted in 2000.

The Friends of Greenfield would welcome more volunteers to join us in making these improvements. Perhaps the complainant would like to come along to the next meeting of the Friends on Wednesday, January 11th, at 7 p.m. in the Crown Hotel, Colne, to share his suggestions and help us to put them into practice.

DAVID PENNEY

Chairman, Friends of Greenfield LNR Executive Committee