Environmentalists are set to lead a protest march in Letchworth on Saturday, fighting North Herts District Council plans to build on Green Belt land in Stevenage’s Great Ashby, Forster Country and north of Letchworth.
Groups such as Save the World’s First Garden City and Say No To GA2 are protesting against NHDC’s Local Plan, which includes proposals to build 900 homes on Green Belt land north of Letchworth’s Grange Playing Field.
Campaigners are also trying to stop building on a section of Forster Country Green Belt north west of Stevenage, as well as the GA1 and GA2 sites in the Great Ashby area of the town – all of which fall under NHDC’s jurisdiction.
Activist Pete Perry will be giving a speech in the Central Methodist Church Hall, alongside Kevin Fitzgerald from Campaign for Protection of Rural England, ahead of the 12 noon march.
Pete said: “As a lifelong environmentalist, I am opposed to further encroachment upon the Green Belt, as it will effectively cut off more of our oxygen supply, due to the removal of trees, plants and grass. It will also evict many wild animals in our countryside from their natural habitat, adding to the extinction rate of our already diminishing natural heritage.
“For many years, I have called Mother Nature ‘The Girl With Green Hair’, who cries, as people keep chopping away at her green locks, as they destroy nature.
“With this in mind, my wife will be accompanying me in the role of ‘The Girl With Green Hair’ for the march.
“Others will be dressed as foxes, badgers, bumble bees and flowers, in celebration of the wildlife that developers are about to destroy.”
The march will start at midday in Letchworth’s Broadway Gardens and heads through Eastcheap and Leys Avenue, then back through Openshaw Way.
Alongside the march efforts, Pete launched a petition which currently has 261 supporters online. Say No To GA2 – a group that looks to protect land north east of Great Ashby – recently submitted a petition in response to NHDC’s Local Plans, which earmarks almost 2,000 homes in the area, including parts of Forster Country too.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here