Debbie Ludford spoke at last night’s demonstration, explaining why protecting the greenspace and woodlands of Maidenhead Golf Course is so important for our community.
You can watch a video of Debbie’s speech here, or read the words below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mT4RycEu5A
The threat to our world
I think everyone here understands the threat to our world and our community that climate change is bringing.
We are going to experience more droughts, more floods, more storms, heat domes, wild fires and our biodiversity is going to be put under more and more stress.
What we must do
The science is clear and what we need to do to reduce warming and mitigate against the effects of climate change is also clear.
The successful towns and cities will maximise the benefits their greenspace can bring for nature, trees, shade, water storage, absorbing carbon, generating oxygen, cleaning our air, and providing amenity for mental and physical health.
Our council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and published an Environment & Climate Strategy
In it they acknowledge the importance of the natural environment for protecting the ecosystem benefits we receive – including clean air and water.
They acknowledge that protecting and enhancing our environment will also create great places to live and support resident’s health and wellbeing.
So why on earth do they want to destroy our beautiful greenspace at the golf course?
They don’t seem to be able to make the connection between a written strategy on a piece of paper and the real world application of that strategy.
So to help them out, I’ll just outline a few key points about the opportunity the golf course presents for our community – both today, and in the future – if it stays green.
What the golf course does for our community
- It’s our green lung so it’s working hard to absorb carbon and fine particulate matter from our roads and airports.
- With thousands of mature trees it’s also providing habitat for many types of animals, birds, insects and bees – many of which are protected species. For example owls, bats, kestrels, hedgehogs and slow worms.
- The trees also provide shade and oxygen.
- The golf course soaks up rainwater and helps to protect our community from flooding.
- Right now there’s amenity for golf club members and many local people who enjoy walking across the footpath and connecting to other greenspaces and footpaths.
If it stays green, over time we can make even better use of this space
We can plant more trees and wildflowers.
We can create ponds for wildlife and water storage.
We can work with the golf club to share the space – and maybe one day it will be a park for everyone – with wellbeing and education activities there, such as a community centre, community garden or allotments, walking trails, etc.
I don’t know exactly what our community will choose for this space in the long term. But what I do know is that this space will become more and more important for us all if it stays green.
If it’s developed, it will have the opposite effect
We will have more air pollution, less wildlife, more flooding and no chance of ever getting this precious natural resource back.
I really believe if we stand together, we can get this insane plan to ruin our environment here in Maidenhead stopped.
Please make sure your local and national politicians understand that this is unacceptable
Write to Theresa May, write to our councillors – especially those who voted to against our petition back in March – when we asked our council to protect this space.
And when it comes to voting in the next local and national elections, make sure the people you vote for understand that protecting the remaining greenspaces in our town is vital for the wellbeing of our community.