BANK DETAILS FOR APPEAL

Dear Friend of the Greenbelt In my last update I launched an Appeal for funds to pay the £810 cost of a fauna (including bat) survey to complement the flora survey that was carried out on our behalf in June this year. The flora survey was carried out free of charge by a member of the Scottish Wildlife Trust but it has been necessary to engage a professional company to carry out the fauna survey. In the opinion of our experts the fauna survey is critically important to augment the flora survey. We are asking everyone who receives this email to contribute what they can afford towards this outlay. However, as a guide your Steering Committee would suggest a minimum contribution of £5 per person or £10 per household. If you cannot afford £5 please contribute whatever you can, every pound will help; but if you are able to contribute more please do so, as that will offset contributions from those who are in less fortunate circumstances. Our bank account details are as follows: BARCLAYS BANK Sort Code: 20-33-70 Account Number: 40328553 The Account is in my name: Mr Alan Harris; but is subtitled MOC GREENBELT You can use either name (or indeed no account name) to make a payment, so long as you use the Sort Code and Account Number above. If you use the name MOC GREENBELT, then that is what will appear on your bank statement, so that might be preferable for your own reference. If you are asked to quote a reference for the payment, “Donation” will be quite sufficient. There are a number of ways that you can pay directly into our bank account: Internet (Online) Banking from a computer, laptop, smartphone, tablet or similar device; Telephone Banking; In person at any UK Bank. You can go into any branch of your own bank and use your debit card or cash to make a payment to our bank account using the above details; or you can go into any branch of Barclays (even if you don’t bank with them, there is one at 21 Cowgate, Kirkintilloch, open 9.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday) or any other UK bank and make a cash payment to our account using the same details. No UK bank should charge you for this service. In addition you can make a donation by putting cash in an envelope and putting the envelope through my door at 2 Elizabeth Ave (corner of Laburnum and Elizabeth). PLEASE SEAL THE ENVELOPE AND PUT YOUR NAME ON THE OUTSIDE OR ON A NOTE INSIDE AND ADD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IF YOU DID NOT RECEIVE THIS EMAIL DIRECTLY FROM ME. All envelopes received this way will be opened in the presence of a third party. All donations will be acknowledged by email. If you make a donation by any of the above methods and do not receive an acknowledgement within 48 hours please email me and I will double check. If you are not satisfied with any response from me you can email our Chair, Dr Morag Campbell on morag162@gmail.com. We are prevented by law from undertaking a house to house collection without a licence and do not have time to go through that procedure at present. In any event there is no guarantee that such an application would be successful. Therefore it is very important to us to make the Appeal as widely known as possible. So it would be very helpful if those who use social media could broadcast the Appeal I issued last night along with the payment details or simply ask anyone you know who might want to contribute to contact me at this email address and I will forward the payment details. You can also feel free to forward last night’s email and/or this email to anyone else you know who might be interested in helping our campaign. The bank account and all receipts and payments will be audited by a qualified accountant and the audit will be published on our website http://mocvillage.wix.com/greenbelt. Up until now we have not had to ask for money due to the generosity of local citizens and companies who have provided materials and services free of charge; but we feel sure that you will understand that the donations we are soliciting now are a small price to pay in our ongoing battle to preserve the greenbelt on Redmoss Farm. Any surplus above the cost of the fauna survey will be used to fund ongoing activities. If anyone has any ideas for a fund raising event please let me know. Alan S Harris Secretary MOC GREENBELT PRERRVATION

UPDATE ON FLORA AND FAUNA SURVEYS OF REDMOSS FARM

Dear Friend of the Greenbelt, In my update on 21 June 2015 I told you that the designation of Redmoss North as a preferred development site in the proposed Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3) was based on the finding in the Land Use Consultants (LUC) Preliminary Ecological Appraisal for East Dunbartonshire Council (EDC) that there is a significant difference in ecological value between the southern and northern parts of Redmoss Grasslands. The LUC Survey specifically states that “Habitats and vegetation as described within the Redmoss South Site are of a comparatively higher ecological value than those of the northern site”; whereas “Habitats and vegetation as described within the Redmoss North Site are of low ecological value, and the removal of these habitats in order to support a new development should pose no great affect to the nature conservation of the surrounding areas.” This distinction between the northern and southern parts of the site was predicated on the classification of the northern site as ‘semi-improved grassland’ on the basis of it having been shallow ploughed at some point in the past; while the southern site was classified as ‘unimproved grassland’ with potentially greater ecological value. However, the Survey carried out for us by a member of the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) also identifies the northern area of Redmoss as ‘unimproved grassland’ “that is remarkable in local context with value as a habitat for native plant species including several types of orchid.” Therefore this new evidence directly contradicts the Council's external "expert" report. When I submitted this Survey and Commentary to EDC on 13 July 2015 I concluded with our expert’s opinion that that the report demonstrates that the proposed development of housing on this area of greenbelt land ignores the complementarity of the two sites and the integrity of the whole area which is an integral part of an existing Green Network. EDC have confirmed that our Survey will be included in the analysis of the Redmoss site that is presented to the “working party” and that it will be submitted in its entirety to the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) in due course. The LUC Survey stated further that “No direct evidence of any bats was identified during the survey, but the surveys were undertaken at a time of year (November 2014) when bat activity is reducing dramatically as prey becomes scarce and the winter hibernation season approaches. Presence of bats and breeding birds can only be determined during active seasons for these species so this should be considered if timings are crucial to the implementation of any proposed development. Bat surveys should take place between April and September, inclusive, through preferably spread between the months of May and August, and the breeding bird season is generally from 1 March until 31 August, dependent on species likely to be present. Further survey work will be required should any developments be proposed within the Study Area. Surveys should be carried out for otters, bats, badgers, and nesting birds; reptiles may also need further consideration despite sub-optimal habitat. If such species are found to be using the site, especially for sheltering, any development must include a detailed mitigation plan and include compensation if necessary, and if necessary a licence from SNH.” Therefore it is clear that a comprehensive habitat survey must consider both flora and fauna and indeed the SWT Survey identified the ecological value of the northern site and noted the need for a specific fauna survey. I have been able to agree a further extension with the Council to 21 August to submit a fauna survey and after much searching have been able to find a firm, Direct Ecology, who are prepared to do the work in time. The survey will be undertaken by Beccy Osborn, BA Hons (Oxon), MSc, MCIEEM Principal Ecologist and Company Director. The survey will comprise a day visit walk over, looking at trees in particular for bat roost potential and any signs of protected species on the site (badgers/otters etc). We have been guaranteed the report by 19th August at the latest. The total cost of the reports on the general species and the separate report on the bats will be £810 including VAT. The cost includes a day to prepare the main report and a half a day for collecting in and analysing data on the bats. In the opinion of your Steering Committee and our local expert this report is essential to support our case, particularly when it goes to the Reporter in due course. Therefore we are now launching an Appeal to fund the cost of the surveys. Alan Harris Secretary MOC Greenbelt Preservation

Press Statement

MILTON OF CAMPSIE GREENBELT PRESERVATION PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION REPRESENTATIONS ON EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL PROPOSED LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Commenting on the consultation process, Alan Harris, Secretary of Milton of Campsie Greenbelt Preservation said: “The Council made it extremely difficult for people to make representations by their initial insistence that all comments "must be submitted by email on their official form or via (their) online survey monkey" and a refusal to accept letters until a week before the deadline. Another giant obstacle for people was the Council’s insistence that "you cannot make a comment on more than one policy within one response form" and confusion over the correct page and policy numbers to be entered on the forms. Nonetheless we believe that there has been more than double the number of representations than the 600 that were submitted at the Main Issues Report Stage last July. At that time there were 160 objections to house building on the greenbelt at Redmoss Farm and only 2 submissions in favour. This represented 27% of the total number of objections. Redmoss Farm in Milton of Campsie was the only Preferred Option site that attracted a significant amount of opposition. With 160 responses this was by far the largest number of comments on a particular site. Reasons for objecting to this site were summarised as: • Loss of Greenbelt land, • Impact upon wildlife, • Distance of site from the village centre and public transport links, • Impact upon traffic and local infrastructure, • Lack of local facilities, and • Uneven distribution of affordable housing across the Council area. (MIR Page14). In fact there were more objections to house building on Redmoss Farm than the rest of the sites that attracted at least 20 objections put together. The number of sites under consideration now is less than half the number at the MIR stage so it is reasonable to expect that the proportion of objections to house building on Redmoss Farm will be significantly higher. We have already submitted a petition with 333 signatures and firmly expect that there have been several hundred objections. The fact that the Council have refused to confirm the exact number speaks for itself. The proposal to build houses on the greenbelt at Redmoss Farm has been rejected on numerous occasions over the last 30 years most recently in 2011 when the Scottish Government Reporter concluded his Report by saying: the overall proposal lacks a cohesive development form and does not appear as a logical expansion of the Milton of Campsie settlement I do not consider that a local nature reserve, in itself, would create a robust visible settlement edge to mitigate the peripheral sprawl of further housing development in this area. Overall, I consider that the proposed scale and location of green belt release is so significant as to undermine the structure plan metropolitan strategy. These considerations are not outweighed by the need for additional affordable housing sites. Since there has been no change in the local geography since 2011, we do not expect any different result on this occasion.” ENDS For further information contact: Alan Harris - secretary@mocgreenbelt.org Note: http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/pdf/DE%20Planning/DE-P%20EDLP2%20%20Report.pdf 37. Road access to the Area 2 development plot is rather convoluted via Redmoss Road, Laburnum Drive, Elizabeth Avenue and finally Marley Way, a cul-de-sac. Both development plots have been positioned so as to avoid the higher ridgeline crossing the centre of the site broadly from south-west to north-east. But, as a result, the overall proposal lacks a cohesive development form and does not appear as a logical expansion of the Milton of Campsie settlement. The northern plot in particular has the appearance of a backland site located to the rear of existing housing on Elizabeth Avenue with awkward road access and little visual connectivity with the adjoining housing area. 38. The proposal to form a local nature reserve or country park is part of the overall green belt release package proposed by the representees. There is already clear evidence of well used paths and desire lines crossing parts of the site and linking into more formal path networks in and around the settlement to the north, south and east. However, the status, funding, long term management and legal mechanisms for such a nature reserve or country park are not well developed at this stage and do not provide sufficient justification for a significant green belt release. In any event, I do not consider that a local nature reserve, in itself, would create a robust visible settlement edge to mitigate the peripheral sprawl of further housing development in this area. 39. Overall, I consider that the proposed scale and location of green belt release is so significant as to undermine the structure plan metropolitan strategy. These considerations are not outweighed by the need for additional affordable housing sites.