Today, 7th August 2023 saw the start of the destruction of the Tufa Field.
Contractors engaged by Bath and North East Somerset Council once again used high power brush cutters and industrial mowers to cut down the nettle beds, despite it being peak season for Butterfly and Moth breeding. The destruction of the feeding and breeding grounds is heartbreaking in a time of national concern over butterfly numbers.
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The Butterfly Patch after machine cutting. 7/8/23
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The Nettle Patch in Summer
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A destroyed field ant hill
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Swathe cutting
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These are the ecologists overseeing the work
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The tree surgeons carrying out the work
This is in preparation for a £320,000 geology investigation starting this week. This will involve drilling and digging, work apparently brought forward from November. This would have been much less destructive if carried out then , as previously indicated to local residents. This would have been the Field’s dormant time.
August 7, 2023 at 4:37 pm
Shocking & gut crushing to see the Tufa Field being destroyed. It’s not the first time the Liberal Democrats have promised to protect the environment but as soon as expedient have done the opposite. I note they always do that after an election where they’ve raised expectation in those fighting to save their green spaces knowing that they will carry on regardless as soon as the votes have been secured to keep them in office. The residents in Combe Park whose back gardens ran into a mature orchard full of wildlife have rows of expensive houses squeezed in that former glorious space know to their detriment not to trust them. They are no better than the Tories, talking the talk when it suits them with their fingers crossed behind their backs. It’s called green gaslighting & the public are just fall guys.