After 15 Years

If you had been responsible for this area of land for 15 years would you have been prepared to add photographs of it before and after to your CV to show what a fine job you had done?



There are about 85 acres here and it's part of Blacka Moor, which means it's public land held in perpetuity for the recreation of the public as a public open space and public walks and pleasure ground. So impoverished is it that the features that stand out are the vehicle tracks, the sheep droppings especially around their chosen latrine site beside the stone wall and other examples of erosion caused by human management.

To get to this exalted state it's been in receipt of many thousands of public money all sanctioned by jobsworths from Unnatural England who are happy to be profligate with our wealth.

SRWT has chosen to see it as a nature reserve rather than as a public recreation and access area. They are trying to discourage people from visiting it or parts of it, in direct opposition to the terms of the legal governing document from Alderman Graves. Even by the warped standards of the contemporary  nature conservation businesses this is a depressing place, devoid of trees and appealing, so they desperately hope, to a passing curlew that's shown precious little interest to date.

As a starving man values a stale crust we used to welcome the tiny area of gorse here. Now even that seems to have gone into terminal decline. Knowing the people involved I can imagine them blaming nature: not enough management!

Over 15 years nobody has made a convincing job of explaining why this 85 acres where nature has been repressed should continue in its present impoverished state.