Packsaddle Community Fields can contribute to the Nature Recovery Plan

Thanks for the opportunity to input into this incredibly important and thorough document. The local community in Packsaddle have done a lot of work over the past few years on nature recovery and community involvement at Packsaddle Fields. We worked with the Somerset Wildlife Trust to produce a Biodiversity Enhancement Strategy that would improve the Fields for both wildlife and people, contribute to Frome Town and Somerset Council's policies on Climate and Biodiversity, and which happily aligns with the visions, aims and objectives in FTC's Nature Recovery Plan - particularly under Habitat Creation and Land Management, Species Recovery in Built Environment, Community Action and Monitoring, and Planning Policy and Partnerships. We also fully align with SC's LNRS. Please see our Vision Document below, particularly the Appendix, which lists notable species to be found at the Fields, and a suggested Action Plan to achieve the enhancement of the Fields for nature and the community alike. A Brighter Future for Packsaddle Community Fields - People for Packsaddle ( https://peopleforpacksaddle.org/a-brighter-future-for-packsaddle-community-fields/ ) Packsaddle Fields are a unique space of 8.8 acres that contains open fields of grassland, which have had no pesticides, herbicides or artificial inputs for decades; it contains hundreds of metres of significant hedgerow and dry stone walls noted on the Cruse map of 1813 and still present today; and supports protected and notable species such as the greater and lesser horseshoe bat, hedgehog and barn owl. The fields are neither urban, nor countryside in character, so are unique and valuable in different categories - meadows / grassland / trees / hedgerows / scrub, and can provide an important addition to the local wildlife corridors in the wider area. A major step to realising this vision will be to get the Fields into community ownership. We welcome every opportunity to work with FTC to make this Vision a reality, to help Frome's nature thrive with the input of the community that lives close by.