Reservoir Dug

Following on from last week's blip introducing the situation that was developing at the Baildon Moor reservoir site, here's an update.

The headline is that the work is continuing, despite a flood of protest that has been directed through the parish and district council in particular. The site went into private ownership recently, and it seems that within the bounds of the site, an awful lot can be done before planners or other agencies intervene, particularly where no planning permission related to redevelopment or change of use has actually been applied for. The fact that the site probably had a distinctive ecology stands for nothing. I find the lack of an ecological survey particularly galling, as now we will never now just what had grown up on the site.

The dumping of waste outside of the site is another issue, and seems to be the main point where the developers have over-extended themselves.

To be fair, there were originally some people within the community who felt that having something done to the site was better than seeing it fall further into dereliction. However, people were sold on the idea of preservation of heritage, and there seems very little preservatiion of either built or natural heritage going on here. If the developers ever had any trust from the local community, they deserve to have lost it now. If the plans go ahead, the visual and noise impact across the moor will be widespread.

I've updated the photo set that illustrates the nature and impact of activity that has been happening on the site. If you look at nothing else, please view this short video that shows some of the impact on local wildlife.