Gib Hill: 40 acres between Nelson and Colne could become nature reserve
- Published
A range of options for the future of Gib Hill are to be investigated by a working group of Pendle councillors
Councillors have been urged to "stop sitting on your hands" and "get on with" protecting nearly 40 acres of countryside for future generations.
Many want to designate Gib Hill, which lies between Nelson and Colne in Lancashire, as a nature reserve.
Campaigners fear homes could be built on 14 acres of the lower fields unless the area is legally protected.
A Pendle Borough Council (PBC) meeting agreed to form a working party to consider options for Gib Hill's future.
Years of discussions and reports have resulted in only vague commitments to protect it, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
PBC gained ownership of Gib Hill in two phases, going back to the late 1960s and 1970s and linked with local council reorganisation.
The land could be transferred to a community group or town council, or be kept by the borough council.
The meeting further heard that if properly recognised as a nature reserve, the land could boost local wildlife, be used for educational trips and benefit the community's physical and mental health.
A Pendle Council meeting agreed to form a working party to look at the site's future
Nelson Town Councillor Yvonne Tennant said the town council and other organisations wanted a nature reserve set up in perpetuity and had made their decisions known in the past.
She said: "That was one year ago but nothing has been done. Most councillors voted for this but nothing has been implemented.
"Get on with it. Stop sitting on your hands. Gib Hill must be protected."
Council leader Councillor Nadeem Ahmed said there was consensus on all political sides to protect Gib Hill.
"I accept there is some vagueness in the report. However, councillors do understand these recommendations.
"This is about creating a working group not secret meetings. Councillors will be having meetings with town councils, other groups and experts. We will not support anything done behind closed doors. That's not how we do things."
In Pendle there are currently official local nature reserves at Alkincoates woods, Ball Grove, Greenfield Road and Lomeshaye Marsh.
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