Everyone should have a reasonable piece of accessible green space within a few minutes walk of where they live.

The opportunity to enjoy open green space close to where you live is also:

The opportunity for children to play safely away from busy roads.

The opportunity for people to escape from the stresses of everyday life or from sitting in front of the TV and to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of green spaces and the open air.

Even moderate exercise promotes good health. Just walking for 20 or 30 minutes a day can reduce the risks of heart disease, diabetes etc. But you need decent and convenient (ie. on your doorstep) surroundings in which to take that exercise.

The Government's Urban Green Space Taskforce is recommending that all urban areas should take a strategic approach to green spaces, creating networks of green spaces which include both formal parks and gardens and informal spaces.

Chippenham, as an expanding town, should be taking this message very much to heart.

But the planners seem anxious to squeeze green spaces out of Chippenham and in the process put a squeeze on the quality of life of existing residents.

The planners and the structure plan seem to view Chippenham's green spaces as little more than development sites in waiting, rather than valuable community resources as they are.

As the town grows it should take every opportunity to protect existing green spaces and create new ones and they should be linked by paths and cycleways.

Are our current planners and politicians up to the challenge of leaving Chippenham with a legacy of green spaces and a town which is that pleasant to live and work in?

The final outcome of the Rowden Hill case could give us the answer to that question.

Coun Chris Gale

North Wiltshire Friends

of the Earth