Save The Ribble

A blog dedicated to preserving the beauty and delicate ecosystem of the River Ribble, and opposing any 'vision' to build a barrage on our River and develop on our riverbanks, floodplains and green spaces, causing damage to wildlife and the environment and increasing the risk of flooding to our homes. Save the Ribble Campaign is not responsible for the content of external blogs or websites which link here.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

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….

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5 Comments:

At 12:22 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am a native Cumbrian who went to university in Preston. The ability to so quickly escape the town (now city) by traveling through the park to the ribble may well have kept me sane. There are some fantastic walks around the area which will be destroyed and the flat nature (of a flood plain) meant that I could take disable friends as well. This would be a real shame to lose.

 
At 9:14 am, Blogger P said...

This was a really enjoyable walk.
It was great to be surrounded by so many people who love their river, and don't want to see it ruined.

There was a soft rain, but I didn't hear anyone complaining, even the kids, who are very concerned about the wildlife that the river supports.

We walked past some absolutely beautiful countryside, very lush and green. I remember thinking as we stood on the old tram bridge, being watched by the cows in the picture while we drank champagne, that we were literally only 15 minutes walk from the city centre - what other city can boast this?

Preston City Council is so short-sighted - they do not realise the fantastic asset that our river and the countryside around it is to the city and the people that live here.

A 'central park' will be no recompense at all for what we will lose if the 'Riverworks' project succeeds.

 
At 4:48 pm, Blogger P said...

The other really significant thing about this is the way that a blog has been able to mobilise people - 90 people gathering to celebrate the launch of a blog (as well as the beauty of their river and it's countryside) is something that must be a brand new phenomenon in blogging history.

It is a small taste of the potential power of blogging - a tool that has up to now, not been used enough by community campaigning or activist groups. I hope other groups soon learn from, imitate and surpass our example!

Our own blog is only 6 weeks old - it can only grow stronger - giving people from South Ribble and Preston a voice that reverberates both in the Council chambers, and around the world.

 
At 11:13 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello riversider, I'm not sure but I think I spoke to you briefly on Sunday, I was the lad with a baseball cap, sorry I didn't have much to say on the day!

I was born and have grown up in south ribble and am perplexed that remote and unelected bodies such as the north west development agency should bid for vast amounts of public money to build a barrage which as far as I can tell will only benefit private property developers.

The whole idea is silly.

 
At 10:18 am, Blogger Reigh Belisama said...

Hi - sorry I didn't get to speak to you either! The walk showed the strength of local feeling and support for the Ribble and our green spaces even at this early stage in the campaign - despite the heavy rain!
Do email us on savetheribble@tiscali.co.uk if you'd like us to keep you in touch with events.

 

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