Statement to the Town Green inquiry.

21 March 2006

Radley Lakes: Application for Town Green status

I am a professional campaigner and not a resident of the Radley or Abingdon area. In March 2006, I was approached by CPRE members and local campaigners to ask if CPRE Oxfordshire would support a campaign to preserve Thrupp Lake. Since that date, I have visited Radley Lakes approximately twice each month. My purpose was to gain a greater understanding of the landscape through the seasons and of how it is used by the local community. Whenever possible, I have talked to people walking past or around Thrupp Lake. These conversations have changed my view about the value of Radley Lakes and the nature of the campaign.

My initial view was that the campaign would be centred on wildlife and the attractiveness of Thrupp Lake, which is biodiverse and beautiful throughout the seasons. I have learnt from my conversations that Thrupp Lake also has high value as a community resource. People I met talked about how they have enjoyed watching the lake change through the seasons, and over many years as the trees have matured and wildlife has increased. Children I saw clearly enjoyed the lake, with its wildlife and its sense of wildness that is very different from municipal parkland. Whatever the technical environmental and planning merits for retaining Thrupp Lake, and I believe them to be strong, it has become clear to me that the major reason for its preservation must be its value as a community landscape.

Radley Lakes is a landscape that has been "adopted" by the local communities and is used in common by them for recreation, contemplation and nature watching. That alone is sufficient reason for CPRE to campaign to save Radley Lakes and to support this application for Town Green status, which we do wholeheartedly.

Yours sincerely

Andy Boddington
Campaign Manager