The campaign to protect Coul Links is important to me. I know the site and the thought of it becoming yet another golf course when it is so important for wildlife is abhorrent and, in many ways, sums up the ways in which wildlife is so often pushed aside in the modern age.
And I like the way that a group of NGOs has campaigned together to protect this site. Win or lose they have done the right thing.
I’ve featured stories about Coul Links on this blog regularly and have promoted the cause and given a little bit of my own money to help things along.
And so I am pleased to tell you that I have been able to boost the fighting fund for Coul Links by another means and there is now another £1000+ heading its way.
One of the features of the Crowdjustice crowdfunder platform is that unspent or surplus funds remain in the system and at the disposal of the case owner (for other cases feature on the Crowdjustice platform). Because the legal challenge that I took against Natural England over Walshaw Moor was successful, and our costs in winning the case were less than expected, in the last few days (these things take a long time) over £5,000 has been returned to my Crowdjustice client account.
I’ve agreed with Crowdjustice that £4,000 of that money will remain at my disposal for future cases – most likely, very likely, Wild Justice cases, but that £1,129.85 (roughly!) will be transferred to the Coul Links project to support the joint NGO campaign to try to protect this site. That money will appear on the ‘Help us to save Coul Links’ crowdjustice page soon but I thought I’d tell you now because it might encourage you to give a little bit more to the cause yourself over this last week before it closes.
The money that was donated to enable me to take a successful legal challenge against Natural England in order to protect a West Yorkshire wildlife site from development has now been recycled to help others to protect another wildlife site this time in northeast Scotland.
I can think of no better cause to spend it on. May I remind readers that there are no fewer than 91/2 other golf courses within 40 miles of this very special site. (The 1/2 being a 9 hole course). Some of which are literally within a few minutes drive.
This new course will likely create no new jobs, instead it will just take ground staff from other sites nearby that will inevitably suffer.
You may not know the site, you may never go there, but isn’t it enough to know that it exists? Please give to this cause and help protect a little of what we have left.
I was confused when I read on the Coul links crowdfunded website that money would only be taken if it reached the target. Your further revelations here, whilst I support them, were also unknown to me. I suppose reading the small print would have enlightened me.
A special thanks to you Mark for all you do for conservation and wildlife. As a result of all your hard work the conservation of Coul Links gets a great boost. As time goes on you and your web site are becoming a very important and significant instrument for wildlife conservation.
As you say, we get all this clap trap from so many people and politicians, especially from the well off, that we must protect our wildlife. However when “ the chips are down and the pinch is on “ and they see a way of making money, they are indeed prepared to sweep wildlife aside. Your stance and campaigning is showing this two faced attitude can be stopped.