FED up with the way Bury's land reclamation schemes have been going Angela Graham, the Bury-based chairwoman of the South Lancashire Bat group, has sent a strongly worded letter to director of development services, Ian Cheetham. Marked for the attention of 'the Working Party of Councillors' it is a damning indictment of Bury Metro's reclamation achievements.

For the past few years the Bat Group have used Bury MBC's Wildlife Advisory Group to relay their views on threats to wildlife posed by proposed developments.

"It was thought for a long time," she said, "that they appreciated the Advisory Group's specialist knowledge."

Now she says: "It became increasingly apparent during 1995 that our comments were simplified to such a level in the notes of meetings that they were virtually useless to members of the Development Services and Planning Committees.

"Certainly the strength of our feelings on some issues were not adequately represented."

She continued: "Bury Council seems to have an over-simplistic view of ecological systems."

And on the subject of Kirklees Valley - where Island Lodge is a haven for bats - she asks: "Does Bury Council want to know any more, before it turns that particular area over to 'leisure and amenity? Or is it inconvenient to know because then it has to be taken into account and it might interfere with a simplistic 'vision' that doesn't care about ecological issues because it doesn't understand them?

Angela also argues that the need for ecological input has never been clearer than it was following the destruction at Waterdale.

She said: "Members of WAG were barely consulted before Bury Council undertook to 'reclaim' the Waterdale site."

"The proposed fate of lodges was discussed, but I doubt any of us expected the destruction of large tracts of surrounding vegetation to accompany the inappropriately severe 'management' of Kingfisher Lodge."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.