Don't Ditch our Lodes
I HAVE SEEN AN ADVANCE COPY of The Environment Agency's November paper on options for the future of The Cambridgeshire Lodes.
The Agency is proposing a 'preferred option' for further consultation that appears, in essence, to be a five-year reprieve for The Lodes. It plans to maintain The Lodes as they are now, at their current level, by carrying out repairs as and when required, subject to five-yearly reviews and any future changes in land use involving increased threats to The Lodes and their banks.
I welcome this paper.
I am very grateful to The Environment Agency for proposing what appears to be a five-year reprieve for my beloved Cambridgeshire Lodes and to the hundreds of supporters who have obviously influenced the outcome of the first stage of The Environment Agency's study.
Assuming that the 'preferred option' continues to be supported, my fear now is that The National Trust will still go ahead with its attempts to buy up more of these Fens and that, after five years, with further threats of land being flooded close to The Lodes. The Environment Agency will be compelled again to look critically at the longer-term future of The Lodes and their banks.
I will do my best to persuade landowners not to sell out to The Trust, an organisation already notorious for attempting to buy land on the cheap.
The National Trust's so-called 'Wicken Vision' scheme is shot through with silliness and severe practical difficulties and problems such as the loss of thousands of acres of the finest food-growing land in the Country, uncertainty regarding the future of all the Fen roads and numerous properties and businesses, the effect on The Lodes and their banks of large areas of open water, the expected influx of additional midges and mosquitoes, more problems with travellers and hare coursing, how we locals are to cope with thousands of visiting vehicles and, of course, the overall cost - likely to run to close to £100 millions.
The scheme is ill-conceived, unnecessary and unwanted.
Supporters of The Cambridgeshire Lodes should still continue to obtain signatures for the on-line 'Don't Ditch Our Lodes!' E-Petition which is to run until May of next year, is to be found at -
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/OurLODES/
and reads as follows:
"Some 30 years ago, a successful campaign was waged to save The Cambridgeshire Lodes, ancient canals of probable Roman origin - principally Bottisham, Swaffham Bulbeck, Reach, Burwell and Wicken Lodes - which were threatened by the then authorities. A decision was made to maintain and to preserve The Lodes. Such is the situation today: The Lodes have been maintained and preserved. But new documents indicate that The Environment Agency has commissioned a 'scoping report'costing some £200,000 and that it is looking critically at The Lodes, an option again being that of converting all or some of them into ditches. The old campaign slogan - 'Don't Ditch Our Lodes!' - is just as relevant now as it was in the 1970s. A new factor is The National Trust's plans to buy up and partially to flood some 10,000 acres of rich fen land and the Trust says that 'lowering'some of The Lodes would be 'acceptable.' Lowering is much the same as ditching. The Swaffham Internal Drainage Board and Swaffham Prior Parish Council support The Lodes being maintained. But the Philistines could be triumphant if their opponents are inactive. So, this is a call to those with influence to use it!"
A MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FROM SKYE
Is there somewhere, some One;
Or even a small team,
Whose brief it is to formulate
A precious hare-brained scheme?
One to divert the local folk
And give them cause to stage
A protest group, or glut of groups,
Thus to share their rage?
One without clear reason;
Maybe a mere caprice;
A resurrected older scheme,
Once left to rest in peace?
One that ignores opinions,
The locals' hopes and wishes;
Upsets wildfowl and boat people,
And affects the Lodes and Fishes?