Ore Community Land Trust receives cash boost
A charitable organisation dedicated to protecting a 13-acre beauty spot in Ore from development has been awarded a cash boost of £20,200.
Ore Community Land Trust (OCLT) received the grant from Big Local North East Hastings, and will use it to buy three plots of land in Speckled Wood, in the upper Ore Valley.
The wood belongs to a number of different developers and private owners and although Hastings Borough Council’s local plan currently marks it as protected urban space, the trust is concerned that this might not always be the case. OCLT – which already owns two other small plots – aims to buy as much of the land as possible in order to maintain it as an open green space for the community in perpetuity and protect wildlife habitats. Two of the plots the trust is buying adjoin Ore Village Green and will become a base for its volunteer work in the area, while the third is near the former Church Street close to Clifton Road. This currently overgrown area will now be turned into a meadow with seating while volunteers will work towards eradicating an infestation of Japanese Knotweed. Tony Polain, OCLT Secretary said “The trust greatly appreciates the investment made in its activities by Big Local and looks forward to completing the land purchases and starting work on the land”.
• To assist OCLT by volunteering or making a donation visit: www.orecommunitylandtrust.org.uk
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Congratulations to all of the members of Ore Community Land Trust and the Trustees who have worked so hard to save Speckled Wood. Thank you very much to Big Local North East Hastings for the donation and their recognition of this very worthy cause.