Ribblesiders celebrate the launch of the campaign blog – despite the rain

Despite the rain, more than 80 local residents from both South Ribble and Preston walked alongside the Ribble and through the local green belt to celebrate this unique area and celebrate the launch of the blog.


Local residents enjoying the Ribblesiders walk despite the rain

Between 50 and 60 residents set off from Priory Park on a wet Sunday afternoon and were joined by the more leisurely arrivals along the route as we walked upriver, past the Riverside Road allotments, along Penwortham Holme and past our amateur league football fields and Holme allotments, along Leyland Road a short distance then through our local green belt, Nature Reserve, meadows, trees and past more of our football pitches, all alongside the Ribble, at low tide and showing all her glorious mud flats at their best. By the time we reached the Old Tram Bridge across the Ribble at Avenham Park, we were nearly 90 strong (over 100 including dogs!), all enjoying the walk and the occasion despite the rain falling even more heavily by this time.
Here we cracked open a bottle of champagne, toasted our River and green belt and voiced our hope that the Ribble can forever flow unimpeded on her course, and the green belt can remain forever green!

The message to Preston City Council is clear – local residents are opposed to their “vision” for our River and our green spaces.
Our vision is for a community where both our quality of life and the environments’ quality of life is the top priority, and residents’ views about major potential developments on such an enormous scale are sought in the first instance, and are taken seriously.


Some of the other local residents take an interest

More pictures of this great occasion will be posted later. See below for more residents’ views, and news concerning support for the Ribble from a local parish council, and from a local M.P….