An action group of over 90 concerned residents has been formed to oppose a large planning development in Ryde.
83 year old Ryde resident David Marshall is just one resident who has joined the ‘Save Westridge Farm Action Group’ to save Westridge Farm, Hope Road, Ryde.
Fighting the threat of closure
David, who has lived next to the farm for fifty years and has witnessed the loss of seven milk producing dairy farms within a mile radius of Westridge Farm over the years, says he is taking action to help prevent the loss of the last remaining dairy farm in the area.
Along with other concerned residents he has been helping hand deliver 2,500 leaflets to households in areas surrounding Westridge Farm, one of last dairy farms on the Island.
David said,
“With Westridge Farm now the only working dairy farm left in the area and one of only nine dairy farms left across the whole Island producing milk, I believe it is essential we save it for future generations.
“I fear the consequences of the planning proposal to build over 80 properties on part of the farm will be closure of the farm and more large scale housing development across all of its fields.”
Public meeting
A public consultation event by Ryde Town Council Planning Committee is being held tonight (Tuesday 3rd May) from 7pm at Grace Church, Marlborough Road, Ryde.
Although the church has a capacity of 70, it’s expected many more people will attend, so best to get there early.
Maps of the area
The Save Westridge Farm Action Group have generated this map below to show the size of the development area and its comparison to the Pennyfeathers development (which was approved in September 2015).
On the map below, the red and orange areas represent Westridge Farm. The green is Pennyfeathers and the yellow shows existing development and agreed planning in the area.
Click on image to see larger version
The group say the landowner has given written notice to farmers to vacate larger orange area.
Other smaller orange area is the proposed planning area.
Find out more
For more information email: [email protected] or call 07419 924466.
You can also follow updates on the Community Facebook Page
