Leeds residents are “devastated” that almost 50 acres of wild green space could be bulldozed to make way for housing in their idyllic countryside village.
David Smith, 70, has said it would be a “tragedy” if housing developers acquire the land. He’s been "kept awake" at night worrying about getting the near £500,000 he needs to stop constructors from getting their clutches on the two fields up for sale in Bardsey, North Leeds.
The semi-retired fashion company director has been rallying support from residents in Bardsey and neighbouring village East Keswick, which are located in the heart of Yorkshire’s Golden Triangle. He's the Chairman of the East Keswick Wildlife Trust, which has only until Thursday November 24 to raise the necessary funds.
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David said: “It should be worrying to all the community that its (the fields’) got an uncertain future. It's such a wonderful wildlife site, it’s the wild green heart and lungs of Bardsey.
“I’d feel devastated because I know the value to the community and I know the volume of wildlife on this site. There’s a huge amount of wildflower species here, butterflies, birds.
“If it was destroyed, it would be a tragedy. Let’s face it, the biggest threat to mankind is climate change and these unimproved pastures and wet fen, which exit on this site, are the most important store of carbon in the whole of the parish of Bardsey.”
The green fields are located either side of Bardsey Primary School. David, who’s a father of three, wants to make the fields a nature reserve with unobtrusive pathways which the children and the public can access.
David said: “It would be a tragedy if they were ploughed up and built on. The school lies right in the middle of it and has a fantastic green space either side of it, it would be a tragedy for everybody...it’s an incredibly rich site for wildlife."
“I’m kept awake trying to raise the money to buy these fields and save them for everybody,” he added.
David has had success with a similar case in the past. He founded the East Keswick Wildlife Trust in 1992 in a bid to save Ox Close Wood, off Harewood Road, from being redeveloped and managed to raise all the money necessary.
For further information on this and ways to donate to the cause, you can access the trust’s website here.
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