Hi everyone! Sorry for being so quiet for a while; we’ve been working very hard recently to bring you big news worth sharing.

Our campaign to Save Leather Lane shows that local intervention can make a difference!

Along with lawyers and local councillors, we managed to stop the needless felling of the oaks on Leather Lane back in March 2021, saving over 40%. Due to consistent pressure along with ongoing monitoring and expert reports, the Secretary of State for transport has acknowledged that Leather Lane is home to the endangered barbastelle bat.

This was not identified at consultation and bill stage and, as a result, adequate plans were not put in place to protect the bat corridor. We, the people, are ensuring that HS2 live up to their ecological and legal standards.  We are doing this by engaging with Parish and County Councillors, as well as our MP Sarah Green who is intervening on our behalf.  The legal and ecological reports we have provided clearly show that HS2 were negligent by not carrying out adequate surveys and not putting sufficient protections in place for all forms of ecology.

 It is vital that we hold them to account in Leather Lane and elsewhere, otherwise HS2 and their contractors such as EKFB would get away with mass ecocide.

We are now putting the same effort in to Ilona, the Lone Oak, who has no reason to be felled. We encourage you to support us – to find out more about Ilona and how crucial ancient oak trees are to life and how we can save her. 

Find Ilona’s social media accounts below:

Follow her on instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ilonatheoak/    Twitter: https://twitter.com/ilonatheoak Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/102844465565705/posts/102846725565479/?d=n

We still need your support for this final push at Leather Lane – we are still paying our engineer who is engaging with HS2’s sub contractors in order to come up with a design for the overbridge that protects the Oak Trees and bat corridor on the Southern side.  Now that the Secretary of State has acknowledged the presence of the endangered barbastelle bat at Leather Lane, it is vital that HS2 put in adequate mitigation measures which also means that they need to install a green corridor to see them over the railway track, just as they say they are doing at Bernwood forest.

*** WITH ALL OF THIS IN MIND PLEASE, PLEASE CONTINUE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDING HERE: https://gofund.me/8d6f44b0 *** OR IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO DONATE DIRECTLY, FIND MY PAYPAL HERE: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/blaizeoc

Blaize X