Campaign launch to save South Tyneside beauty spot - including possible £125k plot buyout
A campaign to save Fellgate Ponds from the bulldozer has been launched - and it may include a possible £125k buyout.
A wildlife lover is seeking expert support and public backing as she launches a campaign to save a South Tyneside wildlife beauty spot from the bulldozers.
Dianne Hunter, 60, wants to prevent the near five-acre Fellgate Ponds site at Jarrow – which has been put up for sale - from being turned over to housing.
She is hoping individuals or groups with experience in mounting such defensive campaigns will jump on board.
The civil servant says another focus could be to start a public petition, or a fundraise to buy the land, which comes with a hefty £125,000 price tag.
Site put up for sale
Landowner Trevor Crawford, 73, recently put the site, off the A194 Leam Lane dual carriageway at Fellgate, on the market.
Mr Crawford, who is retired, has owned it since 1986 and says it is time to sell and that he always intended houses to be built.
He has admitted he stands to make a further 50 percent of any increase in the land’s value if housing goes up.
The area is also a stone’s throw from 200 acres of green belt farmland also under threat from property development.
Dianne, who is from Jarrow, said she understood Mr Crawford’s motivation and admitted pulling together the cash to buy may be “pie in the sky”.
But she insisted there was real and serious intent to her campaign, even if it resulted only in potential buyers being aware of their obligations to wildlife.
‘Wildlife here must be protected’
Dianne , who is in the process of contacting like minded groups, added: “There is plenty of wildlife here, including swans which must be protected.
“It’s a lovely location and used by many people as a green space for them to get out and about and manage their mental health.
“It is Trevor’s land and he can do with it what he wants, but I very much hope it stays as a green space.
“If the green belt development was to go ahead, then Fellgate Ponds would be an oasis from that.
“A developer who buys would have to take into account the swans who live there and can only be moved under special circumstances.
“It’s possible the land could be bought by us, possibly as a trust, but it is a lot of money and trying to do so may be pie in the sky.
“But I hope others will join me in this campaign and that this sanctuary can be saved.”
‘Land offers a range of development opportunity’
Property consultant Bradley Hall, which is marketing Fellgate Ponds, says the land offers a range of development potential, subject to planning permission.
Its brochure concedes permission is not in place but the site is “suitable for numerous uses subject to the relevant planning permission”.
Fellgate Ponds has not been without its issues, including being targeted by young yobs.
Late last year, Dianne was among environmentalists who called for it to be better managed, following attacks on swans, and vandalism.
Fishermen who use it have also been criticised for leaving behind their wire, with two cygnets being euthanised after slicing open their mouths by biting on discarded fishing hooks.