Severus Hill: York community bids to buy former reservoir site

Members of the Friends of Severus Hill group are concerned about the future of the historic site

Campaigners have appealed for the public's help in buying a former reservoir earmarked for private sale.

Owner Keyland proposed an auction of Severus Hill, near Holgate in York, last October after deciding it no longer had a use for the land.

The Friends of Severus Hill group has now set up a crowd-funding appeal in a bid to raise £168,000 to buy the four-acre landmark.

The BBC has contacted Keyland for comment.

Keyland is the property trading arm of owners Kelda Group, which also owns Yorkshire Water.

Joe Patton, who is a member of the Friends group, said community ownership of the site would help protect the wildlife and biodiversity of the hill, which is home to foxes, hedgehogs and varieties of birds.

'Amazing haven' of wildlife

Speaking to BBC Radio York, he said: "Over the years there's been various proposals to build on it, but Keyland has got to the point of saying they no longer have use for it and so an auction was proposed last October.

"The group has had to rally very quickly and approach Keyland to say 'we'd love the site' and keep it as a wild space for the community.

"Nature first is our line on this. Nature has rewilded this space from a scrubland essentially to this amazing haven of foxes and hedgehogs and varieties of birds like sparrowhawks and peregrines."

He added Severus Hill had "incredible historical heritage" as it was formed around 20,000 years ago during the Ice Age and was famous for being the site where the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus was killed, as well as for its huge water tower on top of the hill.

Mr Patton said: "There are some amazing potentials and mysteries on the hill that we want to explore and if we mess with it too much, we could break that beautiful ecosystem as it has built itself.

"If it's not in community ownership, stewardship of the wildlife could be lost."

He added the group has until June 2024 to raise the money, otherwise it will be auctioned off.