New £1m grant to help groups protect green spaces

A £1m fund has been set up to help local communities protect threatened green spaces.

The Summerfield Charitable Trust said the money would help groups buy and safeguard local woodlands and wildlife sites when they come up for sale.

It is part of a new initiative from the Gloucestershire Nature and Climate Fund and the Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership.

"We need an initiative like this now more than ever," said Diane Hill, chair of the Gloucestershire Nature and Climate Fund. "Once an important green space is lost, it can be lost for good."

Hill said: "We know there are people across Gloucestershire who desperately want to protect woodland or wildlife sites in their community but when that land comes up for sale, they simply don't have the time or resources to compete with a private buyer.

"This funding means we can help them when it really matters.

"We can provide money to act quickly, bring in the legal and ecological expertise they need."

Recent examples of communities taking action to protect land include Daisybank, Lott Meadow and Southcourt Green, in Cheltenham, as well as Juniper Hill Field and Heavens Valley in Stroud.

Another was Rodborough Fields, near Stroud, where a public campaign to protect the woodland from development led to it being brought into community ownership.

John Bloxsom, chair of the Rodborough Fields and Frome Banks Preservation Group, said: "It's good news that a fund like this has been set up."

The group successfully bought nine acres of Rodborough Fields thanks to a Crowdfunding campaign that raised £200,000 but now the future of a further 30 acres is uncertain after it was put on the market this summer.

Bloxsom said that their latest bid had been rejected in favour of a rival bid from an unknown party, which was "causing concern in the community".

Angela France, one of the directors at Daisybank CIC, which helped to saved the field in Cheltenham from development last year, said she was "delighted" to hear about the new fund.

"Local green spaces are so important to us now," she said.

"I see more and more local communities getting together to protect them."

She said since buying the land, the group had organised litter picking, butterfly counts and an ecological survey in order to plan how best to maintain the field so that local wildlife could thrive.

A community event is also organised for 24 October to gather views on the future of the field.

The new fund has also been designed to contribute to nature recovery across the county, while addressing unequal access to nature.

David Owen, chair of trustees at The Summerfield Charitable Trust, said the initiative "has the potential to create a lasting legacy for nature, communities and future generations across Gloucestershire".

He added: "Through this investment, we hope to enable communities to act quickly when opportunities arise, protect important natural assets and create benefits for wildlife, health and wellbeing that will endure for many years to come."

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