South Holland District Council has perpetrated an enormous unfairness on residents of Moulton.
It is galling to read that while it is to “sell” a green space at Sutton Bridge to the parish council for a mere £1, it took many thousands of pounds, a six-figure sum, from a local charity fund for the sale of a green space in Moulton.
It was the scam of the decade when SHDC sold back to the public what it already owned.
SHDC bought Moulton Park in 2016 to “provide first-class recreational facilities” – Coun Anthony Casson. And “addressing a shortage of green open space” – SHDC.
SHDC has reneged on a commitment to put a wooded area near every settlement, pledging now to provide an additional paltry one hectare of new woodland in the entire district – big deal.
Previous council leader Lord Porter gave the original “every settlement” pledge. But Coun Henry Bingham is now lauding opportunities for tree planting in the trust-owned Moulton Park and a council spokesman said “Moulton Park is being developed as a wooded area” – also in The Voice.
The irony is that SHDC (that’s me and you) owned Moulton Park from 2016 to 2025 and did nothing, let alone plant a single tree.
Now it’s counting the tree planting that has taken place by a charity since it sold the park. There are some trees in my garden, perhaps they’d like to include those as well!
But the main point here is the disparity between selling one piece of open space in one part of the district for £1 and selling another for many thousands (perhaps it will divulge to the Voice how much – it can’t be a secret as it’s public funds) and taking that money from a charity.
The money used by the John and Maureen Biggadike Trust was left in the will of Mr Biggadike to benefit Moulton, Whaplode and Weston.
I’m sure it was never meant to be used to take on the duties and responsibilities of South Holland District Council.
Had the council gifted the land to the trust, in the same way it is doing in Sutton Bridge, then the money used to buy the park could be used to manage and improve it instead.
I am not decrying what the trust has done in the park. It is now open to the public, planting has taken place and lovely walks provided thanks to the trust and its team of volunteers and absolutely no thanks to SHDC.
But I do feel Mr Biggadike’s gift to Moulton could have been better used in the park if SHDC had lived up to its responsibilities.
The council’s money men must have rubbed their hands with glee when it sold back to us (through the Biggadike charity) what already belonged to us.
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