YORKSHIRE Water has commenced an extensive programme of upgrading local reservoirs, beginning on Monday with the start of building a new spillway between Ramsden and Brownhill reservoirs.
I was horrified to find that by Tuesday a number of mature trees fringing Ramsden car park had been not only trimmed back, but felled. These included memorial trees planted by local residents. This was to make way for temporary storage and office units. With a little trimming back there was plenty of room for the trees to remain.
Local residents are also concerned by the proposed upgrading of the track from the Holme Moss to Brownhill, to accommodate heavy machinery. In recent years this area, extensively used by walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders, has been abused by quad bikers and 4x4 drivers, who are making eroded mudbaths out of the remaining green areas which edge the track.
Last year there were two impromptu raves, which resulted in the police being called. The area has also proved a magnet to the drivers of stolen cars who are looking for a secluded spot to burn them out or wreck them. Upgrading the track will facilitate all this.
While we are resigned to the fact that local recreational amenities will be severely affected for the foreseeable future while the work is carried out we are concerned by the potential legacy that this work will leave.
Jill Martin
Holmbridge
