KENNET VALLEY PARK – protect the area for ever

The area, well known to members, lies between Reading and the M4. It is beautiful and sometimes magic, the flood-plain of the River Kennet, a haven for wildlife – one of the best nightingale sites in England, it is enjoyed by nature-lovers, anglers, boat people, ramblers, cyclists, and by many local residents as a quiet peaceful place within easy reach of their homes.

Every five years or so, starting in the early 1980’s, Kennet Meadows has been under threat, whether from gravel companies or from builders. The latest, from a consortium led by Prudential’s property arm, PRUPIM, who wanted to build 7500 houses there, suffered a major setback when, following yet another campaign by local people, the Department for Communities and Local Government took it out of the South-East Plan because of the flood risk it posed to the area and to central Reading.

A petition, following a resolution from veteran Kennet Meadows campaigner Pete Ruhemann to Reading Borough Council, which received all-party support, seeks to end the threats to Kennet Meadows by putting the area into a Trust to be managed for the benefit of local people. Please give it your support. The BOC fully supports this proposal, not least because of the value of the area for birds and wildlife. The petition can be accessed on-line at
“Make Kennet Meadows a Trust” Petition.

Colin Wilson –