A new £1m fund has been set up to assist local communities in protecting threatened green spaces. The Summerfield Charitable Trust stated the money will help groups purchase and safeguard local woodlands and wildlife sites when they become available for sale.
This initiative is part of a new programme from the Gloucestershire Nature and Climate Fund and the Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership. Diane Hill, chair of the Gloucestershire Nature and Climate Fund, emphasised the importance of the initiative, noting that "Once an important green space is lost, it can be lost for good."
The funding aims to provide resources for communities to act quickly and access legal and ecological expertise. John Bloxsom, chair of the Rodborough Fields and Frome Banks Preservation Group, welcomed the fund, after his group successfully bought nine acres of Rodborough Fields through crowdfunding, though the future of a further 30 acres remains uncertain.
Angela France, a director at Daisybank CIC, which helped save a field in Cheltenham, expressed delight about the new fund. She noted an increase in local communities working together to protect green spaces, highlighting their importance.