Dear Angus.
I understand from reading in savejuniperhillfield.co.uk that your sentiment is making wonderful areas such as Juniper Hill accessible to more people and this is absolutely wonderful and done for all the right reasons. However I have a deep down feeling that when you bought this site you may not have been as aware as you must be now about the ecological significance this rare limestone escarpment has.
In annexe 1, Kate Gamez’s, article highlights this. Kate is extremely highly qualified and there is much weight to her article and she encapsulates it perfectly.
At a glance, yes there are Ox Eye Daises, Red Clover, Cowslips, Juniper trees, Dog Rose, Ladies Bedstraw, Buttercups, Scabious, Dandelions, Hawkbit, Bee Orchid, Rosebay Willowherb, Ragwort , several grasses, etc, however with the careful management of this site that Natural England can offer, over a long period of time many, many more flora will re-emerge and this is more valuable than anyone can express to you, and Bulls Cross is just one example of this.
I live adjacent to Bulls Cross and have carried out a simple survey of the variety of flora that I have observed over the last year and a half as I walk my dogs round the common daily. This is out of pure respect to Natural England and what has been achieved so far with the approach that has been taken with the management of this area. I have made a record of this on Instagram so that it is presented chronologically and that it may possibly identify the decline and appearance of single varieties in the future and so forth and invite you to take a look at this - bulls_cross_flora, where, to date, I have uploaded photos of in excess of 150 flowering plants, grasses and trees, along with many insects, lepidoptera and fungi.
It is understandable that when pressure is put upon one person (or company) to “simply” withdraw or back down in a situation such as this it may seem intangible, however pride, emotions and money should be cast aside in this instance because of what is at stake. You will go down in history if you do.
The support of local people and now, from further afield, is neither shallow nor NIMBE, it is deep rooted for one reason and one reason only and this is conservation.
Juniper Hill is part of an increasingly nurtured wildlife corridor and I believe that undoubtably it will not both not prosper but also be a significant patch of land missing in this corridor if it continues to be on the course it is on now. This is not to mention the possibility of discord that could occur within the community of the potential owners of each piece of this land. The reversing of this kind of situation can only be quite literally impossible.
Yours sincerely, Jo
Jo, that is so perfectly expressed! thank you
I am a keen walker and gardner and love nature and animals. I totally support what Angus has said and is doing. We need to contact the Council Stroud or Gloucester Council. Also get local radio station involved and get the message out to the public at large. Also petition the Council Stroud /Gloucester about the damage being done and it has to stop now!! Maybe arrange a protest march to raise awareness among the public and publicity for what we are trying to save. I think we can talk all we want. But positive ACTION NOW IS WHAT IS NEEDED BY EVERYONE and pulling out all the stops quickly hopefully is the only way to stop this mindless destruction of a special site indeed. L Healey
Completely agree with this Jo. I really hope that Angus Hanton can see that the field is unsuitable for anything more than controlled grazing. Natural England would be the best custodians to manage the field