I've just discovered the beautiful
Abney Park, a combination of 19th century cemetery, woodland, and wildlife sanctuary. One of the seven grand cemeteries created on the outskirts of London in the 1800's. The architects created it as an arboretum with 2,500 varieties of plants. Lack of funds saw the park fall into disrepair and go into administration during the 1970's. The London borough of Hackney took it over in the 1980's and have been working to restore the park to its former glory.
However, in this time of "profits rule" developers want to come in and build on the edges of the site. The plans include a huge car park, supermarket and of course high rise apartments. The 20% of promised "affordable" apartments will be in the £400,000 range.
The locals are outraged and fighting the development which they say will have a substantial adverse impact on the biodiversity of the park. In addition they are concerned about the impact on the wider area, one of the few areas where independent stores are still thriving.
The locals are passionate about their park and have many activities throughout the year. This weekend this included teaching people how to make Christmas wreaths.
They would like your support. You can
sign their petition here … you don't have to be a local to support this worthy cause.
