I know it is often dark, damp and a bit depressing in December, and the Omicron variant is putting all our plans for festive cheer under threat :-( So, by way of contrast, if nothing else, some good news :-)
The Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/green4grow?utm_term=jQVmN6rzb has reached its target of raising £500. Well done and thank you. The money has paid for thousands of Flyers that raised awareness of the threat, and our response to it. It also paid for a useful days "Drop in" at Arborfield Village Hall and will help keep this website Live for as long as it takes to defend Hall Farm from unwanted development.
Our group continues to grow, with new members joining every day. Please help keep the momentum going and share our website, Facebook page and twitter feed with your neighbours and online contacts. (Links are in the Social Media box at the bottom of the page).
The campaign is shaping up, despite the best efforts of Wokingham Borough Council to stifle debate by severely limiting our opportunities to comment on the proposals and now has a number of distinct elements to it:
Fighting the planning application for the “Garden Village” which WBC are obviously keen to promote. Not wanting to say too much here about the direction this is taking at the moment, keep your powder dry and all that, but there are promising lines to pursue.
Trying to work with University of Reading to come up with viable alternatives. This is an area I am looking to build on and develop and I would like to take the opportunity to invite anyone who thinks they might have some useful input to get in touch.
I am working towards organising a working party on Saturday 15th January to run from 2.30 to 4.00 pm at Arborfield Village Hall to discuss ideas and get the ball rolling. More information on this to follow.
There are now two petitions to Michael Gove to reduce the Housing Numbers demanded of Local Government Authorities by National Government. You will find links to both petitions on our Facebook pages. (Again, use the Social Media links at the bottom of the page).
Finally, doing more to demonstrate to the community the benefits of what we have, before we loose it and before the “consultation” closes, so people can register their opposition to having it turned into housing.
So, to start with, a Gallery of photo's that showcase the wonderful views, the magnificent trees, the rich diversity of wildlife and the much valued history and heritage of the site.
The "Environment" tab of this website will now feature a Gallery of photos taken in and around Hall Farm and you are all warmly invited to send in any suitable pictures you may have for inclusion.
To start us off are some wonderfully seasonal photos sent in by one of our members, Dave Bartlett. Thanks for sharing Dave!