Save Lake Farm

Something of a departure from our regular blog today but certainly something that is becoming all too common both on our doorstep and our recently visited sites in Singapore.

Lake Farm Country Park in Hayes, West London is one of our regular patches and is also blogged by our friend Wendy on her blog. For nearly two years now the local residents of Hayes have been fighting to prevent the local council from building on Lake Farm. More information can be found on the Save Lake Farm website.

The park is on green-belt land and is one of the few green spaces in the area. It is open to everyone to enjoy, be they dog-walkers, joggers, cyclists or birders. Home to a regular population of Skylarks, Reed Buntings, House Sparrows, Great-Spotted and Green Woodpeckers and the usual garden birds. Lake Farm also sees passage from Wheatear, Stonechat, Swifts, House Martins and Swallows and was also home to a Red-backed Shrike for over two weeks last year. With Kestrel, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk and Hobby making up the raptor contingent, it’s a country park with an abundance of varied bird, insect, lizard and mammal life.

Today saw the local community take to the streets of Hayes and highlight again that they want their green space preserved and not filled with concrete.  With our local councillors and MP joining the Friends Of Lake Farm and Transition Heathrow we marched from the centre of Hayes Town to the now partially boarded up Lake Farm. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.