Humans And Nature – The Dilemma
By David Dennis
Hastings Borough Council want to build 190 homes inside their own countryside park boundary on a flood plain next to a site of special scientific interest.
There is a housing crisis in Hastings, and in England generally. Some of the people who want houses also love wildlife. Some of the people who already have houses don’t want more houses inside their own countryside park. Then there are the pollinators. Humans could not live in houses unless there were pollinators for the food-chain crops that keep them alive. If the areas used by pollinators are concreted over, then this reduces the number of feeding places for bees and hoverflies.
Many people who live in houses, and many who want houses, do want to have their children see herons, egrets, buzzards, owls and insects. If the landscape is built upon, then this reduces the areas of natural existence for these creatures. One can say: well, there are plenty of other places for herons to feed, and plenty of herons in the world, so why worry? But if each planning decision is made on the basis of humans predominating over wildlife, the biodiversity and pollination will suffer to the point of almost total destruction. The Amazon basin is suffering, the demand for palm oil is ruining many areas.
If people who bought houses were told by the state that they must plant wild flowers and trees in the gardens or lose the right to home ownership, there would probably be an uprising, with people saying that freedom of choice had been crushed by government. But the human population is growing, and the wildlife population is in massive decline. The planet is warming because of human intervention. Taking away the right to breed – being told by the state that you cannot have even one child because others have beaten you to it – would also cause a revolution. But unless we have balance, then the planet will go to hell in a handcart.
So what do we do? Surely, we find places to build homes that are not inside countryside park boundaries with 3,000 identified species including rare birds and insects. We build homes away from flood plains, so we don’t need multi-million pound grants to stop natural flooding in winter-flooded valleys. We have to try much harder to find solutions and not go for the easy option – a big green field – particularly one which our local council has already determined during previous planning to be sacrosanct for wildlife and human recreation.
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Well said David Dennis – but who within this feckless council is listening? Words of wisdom falling on non listening officials….these councillors should hang their heads in shame.
So many protests but who is listening??? It is a truly desperate situation.