Proposed plans to build 2000 houses in the fields behind Almondell and Calderwood country park were made public yesterday.

We are a small community of people around this site who moved here to live in a country setting and not in a housing estate. Our friends, who live and work for the landowners will lose everything. Their tied homes and their jobs will be lost for new houses. 

The impact on wildlife will be immense. Living in the area now are badgers, deer, hares, bats, barn and tawny owls. They will all lose their habitats. At least two of these species are protected. A lot of the land around the area has been lost recently to development and we cant allow these animals to lose any more. There are many migrant birds that stop off to fuel up before carrying on their journeys. We have loads of swallows and house martins that return every year to nest in the farm buildings. They will be gone.

The added impact on the local infrastructure will also be immense. The local primary school wont cope with numbers. Roads will need to be widened and more trees will be cut down. We need to stop this before it goes any further