Have your say on protecting our green spaces

When we reported recently on the consultation on the Policies, Sites and Places DPD, we said there’d be a separate, informal consultation starting soon on designating pieces of land as Local Green Spaces. That consultation starts today and runs until 30th July 2015. You can find it at www.southglos.gov.uk/lgsd15

Designating land as Local Green Space gives it similar protection to Green Belt status. To designate land it has to be close to the community it serves, demonstrably special to that community (for example, because of its beauty, historic significance, tranquillity or richness of its wildlife), local in character and not an extensive tract of land.

That last point  has raised concern about larger sites like the land at Woodlands Farm, which many of you wrote to the council in support of last year. This makes it even more important that you let the council – and later the Planning Inspector – know how special this land is to our communities by responding to the consultation. Developers will be looking for any opportunity they can to make their case.

Whether or not the land is designated, in the next few years there will be a Green Belt review and we will be looking for your help to get the land at Woodlands Farm included.

Don't forget that you only have until 2nd July to have your say in the formal consultation on the rest of the Policies, Sites and Places DPD.