past News

May 2024

Felling of Silver birch

There was a dead Silver Birch leaning across the footpath on the southern end of the Lake.
The work was planned to be done much earlier but a storm put this back. Naturally, the tree was checked for any nesting birds in the ivy and none were found.
It took five cuts to fell the Silver birch, which was easily confirmed as dead throughout.
The wood was stacked as habitat, and the stump given a 'conservation cut' which should encourage fungus to feast on the deadwood.

suffolk biodiversity

The SBIS undertook a free search for us. Here is the results, including our CWS citation.

 (Holton Pits TM40523 77358) County Wildlife Site Citation
(Holton Pits TM40523 77358) Flora Records
(Holton Pits TM40523 77358) Map
(Holton Pits TM40523 77358) Protected Species Record
(Holton Pits TM40523 77358) Schedule 9 Records

february 2024

pits celebration!

We celebrated!

february 2024

hedge laying & tree work

Hedge-laying on the eastern boundary, with Paul Jackson teaching us the gentle art.

A bit about laying: often Elm if not cut, will die. Paul began by astonishing us all with the Elm beetle story. Called Dutch Elm disease (unfairly as it did not come from Holland but Canada – it got its name from the team of Dutch pathologists who carried out research on the diseases in the 1920s) Dutch elm disease is caused by the fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi which is spread by elm bark beetles. The female beetle bites the top of the tree, and releases spores which are taken down into the xyle (channels for water and nutrients) of the healthy tree, releasing toxins and causing the vessels to block. She returns the following year, to lay her eggs in the diseased tree, under the peeling bark. These are the chambers that we see. By limiting the height of the Elm tree, therefore, diminishes the chance of the first bite.

Hazel, Elm, Hawthorn, are natural to lay. Originally done to create stock proof fencing, today it has many ecological benefits, providing food sources and nest sites for a huge variety of insects, birds and mammals. As well as keeping the Elm alive.
The basic method involves cutting the majority of the way through the stem/trunk of each branch and “laying” it down along the line of the hedge, on top of the previous tree. This creates a slanted, fence like structure, which new shoots should grow vertically up from in spring.

The next job was to fell the sooty bark sycamore. Spores of sooty bark disease can cause chronic pneumonitis in humans. After three consecutive dry summer seasons, newly reported cases are increasing. Sooty bark disease is caused by the fungus Cryptostroma corticale. We only felled the acute sooty bark sycamores near the Green Land pathway frequently used by people. We need to make a strategic plan for many sycamores in this area, which may include future planting of for example oaks to replace them. We were advised leaving the felled tree in situ and not move it. Paul wore a face-mask to cut. A dead apple tree leaning over the Green Lane, adjacent to a sooty bark sycamore, was also felled.

With volunteers we worked to complete the elm area, coppicing sapling elms around the oaks, giving
precedence to mature and sampling oaks, hidden among the dying elms. We used the brush wood to cover the cut areas.

In addition, Paul pollarded an elm growing close to the electric wires close to the Southwold road.

february 2024

work party - hedge planting

Our first hedge is almost made, along the industrial sites fence, thanks to a great turn out of volunteers on a Sunday morning. Perfect weather conditions, with hope for rain later.

The hedge plants came from: a. The Tree Council (Rachel); b. Suffolk Tree Wardens; c. Waklyns Agroforestry; d. Rebecca’s back garden, and e. Fe Morris.
Thank you all, and for Marion collecting and delivering.

We planted same species in blocks of 10 – if they do not take we will replace a whole block rather than disrupt multiple root systems. Altogether we planted over 100 saplings: Hazel, Maple, Spindle, Rosa Regossa, Hawthorn.

Thanks to Anthony for helping with delivery of trailer.

Thanks to Millennium Green for sharing our call out for volunteers, and for two of their volunteers who joined us.

Thanks to Robert Lawrance and George Watts for a last minute delivery of chippings.

There’s a lot more mulching to do with the chippings - volunteer chippers welcome. Wheel barrow and spade is all that’s needed.

Finally, we repaired to the Queens Head for a fine pint and conversation.

january 2024

first printed newsletter

click to read

january 2024

Japanese Knotweed control

A small patch of Japanese Knotweed is on the site, near the small lake – north-east. Knotweed can grow in most soil conditions found in the UK, particularly in man-made habitats such as ours. Japanese knotweed is the most common of four invasive knotweed plant species in the UK. It usually takes at least three years to treat Japanese knotweed successfully. CEMEX tried, and failed.

We are taking measures to control the spread of Japanese Knotweed.

• We will put up a small rope fence, marking out the area / providing delineation for when treatments begin later in the year.

• We will clear the area of vegetation to make it easier to spot and treat the knotweed.

• We will install a couple of small signs informing people that the area is ‘under management/treatment for Japanese Knotweed’

For the next 3-5 years we will need to treat the knotweed with appropriate methods, which we are currently researching and seeking advice. Hopefully, if we can knock it on the head successfully the fencing will come down in a few years.

january 2024

new lifebuoys

Four new life lifebuoys have been installed around the main lake and one on the small lake. As prescribed by the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF), they are:

• Clearly positioned and in colours of red or yellow

• At a maximum height of 1.7m above the ground

• Regularly inspected and replaced where necessary

• With recommended space so that a potential rescuer is not more than 50 metres from the equipment.

https://www.nationalwatersafety.org.uk/adviceresources/faq/

january 2024

End of 2023 Pit walk

What a remarkable year it has been for us, securing this open space. Looking back on this year, in January we had no bank account, no money, no funding, no constitution, and the future of the Pits was uncertain.
Remember our walk at the end of 2022? Are we starting a ritual end of year walk?

Here we are on a glorious December 31st day 2023. Paul and Marion filled in some of the story. Some horse riders came by. At the end we walked across the top field and enjoyed some hot chai and nibbles. (Thank you Edith for the photographs).

december 2023

First hedge and bank repair

A fallen sallow willow into the lake gave us our first dilemma. To remove or leave and how to repair the bank. We sought advice. The fallen tree was a sallow willow. To get it out would not only be an enormous task, (it was still rooted), nature, with a little bit of help from us, would do our work for us. The expert advice was to leave it, sallow would disintegrate over time, and it would provide good spawning places for fish. To repair the bank we were advised to stake with Sweet Chestnut with hazel or sweet chestnut faggots (tied up brush wood) in between. These were sourced, and today the stakes banged in with brush between. Wheel barrows of gravel and sand from a near by bank were emptied into the hole. It’s going to take a lot more, but it’s a start.

Meanwhile, with some hawthorn donated via Suffolk Tree Wardens, we began the planting of a hedge up against the new railings separating the industrial estates new land. Our plan is to plant a variety of hedge species, but we’ve made a start. It’s a perfect time of year to plant, with rain forecast.

We will be inviting volunteers to help us with this, and other tasks, very soon!

december 2023

Community Ownership Funding received!

december 2023

fallen tree no 2 sorted

In this great wet season, another multi-stemmed tree (sallow willow) has fallen beside the lake. Meanwhile the Alder we cut has turned a great red colour.

december 2023

Celebration – POSTPONED!

Due to the weather warning and the bad weather forecast we will have to postpone our community celebration on Sunday 3rd December at The Pits.

As soon as another date is organised we will let you know.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all again for your continued support in saving this amazing open space for the local community.

May we wish you a safe and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

november 2023

First tree work at the Pits – Emergency felling of Alder

Paul Jackson and Jim, with help from Jamie and Rachel worked today to fell the falling Alder across the footpath around the lake. Crisp, cold and clear a day, we were nourished by fresh warm apple cake made by Marion. The multi-stemmed Alder was suspended over the path held by a young sycamore on the other bank. All the stems needed rope work to prevent them falling into the lake. One of the stems revealed some good wood turning material (fire Alder?) which have been saved. The rest were cut up into cords. Some of these can potentially be used to bank up the area of the fallen sallow willow.

We had just enough light to also cut back the fallen Sallow Willow further up the track, and fell a few Sycamore along the way, prejudicing the young oaks which have self seeded. All brush was cleared and used as habitat.

november 2023

brochure project

Fran Abrams (from Peasenhall) contacted us with an interesting proposal, which we’ve accepted. 

She, along with a group of Masters students form University College, London,  is studying for an MSc in Environment, Politics and Society. Part of the assessment for the Conservation module is to produce a brochure on a conservation project. Fran approached Holton Pits after hearing about our success on the local news.

They have to take into account the economic and social case for the brochure, as well as the scientific conservation case – including community links. Fran has also reached out to Millennium Green, with the idea and possibility of a single wildlife habitat extending along the river Blyth, and for this Fran connected with Alan Miller.

The colleagues, all originally from China, Jing Tang, Xinwei Wang, Mengyan Chen and Zhihao Ai, each have a different and useful skill (economic, design, social, conservative, etc.), while Fran’s experience is in writing. We had a venture around Holton Pits on Wednesday (15 November) with Alan Miller, where they asked questions about the site’s biodiversity – for example, nature corridors, social interaction, population, outreach, and economic base.

november 2023

october 2023

community ownership funding success!

october 2023

Thérèse Coffey’s visit to holton pits

Dr Thérèse Coffey MP visited Holton Pits to see the open space, it having the same week been saved by the community with the award of matched-funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ and its Community Ownership Fund (COF).

Having raised over £100,000 within the local community the COF have matched the sum and in addition provided some revenue funding – meaning the community can now buy the Pits!

Dr Coffey supported our COF funding application from the very start, and her support has been has been important: not only with the COF application, but also with other funding streams. In addition to the well-documented benefits for people, open spaces such as Holton Pits provide vital green infrastructure benefits such as enhancing biodiversity and mitigating climate change. Holton Pits both exhibited and gave a talk at the recent, and highly successful, Halesworth Climate Action Conference

Dr Coffey said: “This is fabulous news for regular users of Holton Pits and the wider community. Huge congratulations to the whole team behind the [Holton Pits] CIC for putting so much effort into the local fundraising and their clearly very strong application. I’m very pleased that Holton Pits will now be in the hands of local people for local people.”

september 2023

Thérèse Coffey’s Autumn Newsletter

september 2023

‘The outcome of a funding bid to save a popular Suffolk dog walking and natural beauty spot is expected soon.

‘Campaigners from the Holton Pits Community Interest Company (CIC) have applied for Government community matched funding of £100,000 to secure the Holton Pits site at Halesworth.

‘The CIC has raised £100,000 of its own money as it seeks to protect the disused sandpit from development that could threaten its fragile biodiversity.

‘The bid has been backed by Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey, who has written two letters in support.

‘The campaigners had also obtained an Asset of Community Value (ACV) designation for Holton Pits, which protects the land.

‘Landowner CEMEX had initially put a £200,000 asking price on the 20-acre plot, including the fishing lake, sparking an outcry from the community and fuelling the creation of the CIC.

‘However, subsequently, CEMEX indicated it would be willing to accept £179,000 for the land.

‘A spokesperson for Ms Coffey said the outcome of the matched funding bids was “expected soon“.’

Beccles & Bungay Journal – 18 September 2023

september 2023

nigel ashfield's photographs

Nigel Ashfield’s father worked in Holton Pit (as it was then known) in the 1950s to 60s, and he has kindly allowed us to share some of his late father’s photographs of the site as it was during its time as a working sand and gravel quarry. It was was owned at the time by Mr R. C. Norman, and these truly amazing old photographs help to show how the site came to be ‘formed’ into the place we all know and love today!

Despite much searching, few, if any, photographs from this period have been found before now. So we are extremely grateful to Nigel for sharing these with us all – as they really are very special indeed!! ❤️❤️

Here is Nigel’s account of his father’s time working at the site (with the photos further below) :

Ivan Ashfield - Excavator Driver at Holton Pits - written by his son Nigel Ashfield:

When Ivan turned 14 in Nov 1942 he left Halesworth Area School (Edgar Sewter) to work at Holton Pit. He learned to drive excavators when he worked on dredging Southwold Harbour from a pontoon during the war, and continued as an excavator driver working in Holton pit. He drove both dragline & face shovel excavators as well as dumpers and operated the plant that screened out the sand & different sized gravel.

He was called up in 1946 to do his National service (RAF Regiment) & re-joined Bob Norman in 1949 at Holton Pit after he was demobbed.
He found many fossils and artefacts while digging & would inspect the excavated pile as objects would often tumble down the bottom. He kept them until he was visited by the curator from Ipswich museum who explained what he had found and took them back to the museum. On one occasion a fossil was identified as the vertebra from a whale’s back bone.

(You may want to enquire with Ipswich museum, who may have items catalogued and archived that were discovered in Holton Pit.)

In addition to excavating Ivan was responsible for loading the lorries that turned up for gravel, or sand. He tells an amusing story of a driver who insisted on pointing to which part of the trailer he wanted the sand placed, which somewhat irritated my father (having done it for many years), but he wasn’t one to make a fuss, so he just put it the opposite corner to the one being pointed out. The driver didn’t interfere on future collections.
Apart from the Quarry, Bob Norman also did haulage & in the autumn, they would collect sugar beet from local farms and deliver to the sugar beet factories. The loading of this was done by hand with a beet fork. Hard work and the reason dad believed why he had an arthritic back & elbows in later in life.
During winter they would undertake road gritting. In the early days this was done with two men throwing the grit over the tail gate with shovels
whilst the lorry travelled slowly, until eventually they had a mechanised spreader.

I can remember as a young child of about 3, going to Holton Pit with my Mum & sister one late summer afternoon taking tea for Dad who was working overtime. Whilst there I sat on my dad’s lap holding the steering wheel of a JCB while he operated the levers & dug into a big pile of sand. I thought it was fantastic. Later in the mid 1960’s Bob Norman sold Holton Pit to Pointers, although I think he remained as a director for some time. My recollection for this
was an open day in Norwich put on by Pointers. The star turn was being lifted in a basket gondola suspended from a huge crane, well it seemed
huge to me as I was only small. I’m unsure how much longer dad worked at the pit after Pointers took over, but I think it was until 1967. He had realised that there wasn’t a lot more gravel to be excavated so found alternative employment with Halesworth Engineering based in Chediston street, Halesworth.

august 2023

Memories of the working pit

Walking in Holton Pits!
by Poppi Smith (July 2024)
How lucky we are to be able to go to the Lakes in Holton to walk our dogs, meet our friends or just stretch
our legs on a sunny afternoon. I am a regular there and am very grateful to the Holton community for
organising a buy out of the land through local donations so that future generations may enjoy the area as
much as I do.
When I first started walking round ‘the Pits’ two years ago, I noticed concreted areas under foot and one
day I bumped in to ‘Woolly’, who shared with me his memories of working there and driving lorries when it
was a working Gravel pit. I have put together a collaboration of Woolly’s memories and some factual
information from the museum so that we can all experience what it must have been like many years ago.

Whilst there is evidence of a gravel pit prior to this, Excavation first began on the site as a result of the
great construction boom that followed the second world war, when sand and other aggregates were needed
to build new housing developments and all that came with them. Extracts from one of the Holton Parish
Council’s minutes show the application to extend the quarry’s excavation north of Blyford Lane. This led to
the destruction of the ancient road which was later reinstated to the position it is found today.
I have struggled to find photos of the pit as it was but the photo above is courtesy of a book, ‘Boy’s own
Halesworth’ by Boozie Took, published by Halesworth and District Museum in 1988. You can see the
original size of the lake before the quarrying made it in to the size we know today. You can see how big the
cliffs were around the lake and how the size has changed over the years.
David, Woolly, was a local young man and was looking for a job in the early 1960s when he noticed a truck
parked up at the quarry despite work going on all around. He went back there several times before another
chap started asking him if he had any driving experience to which he enthusiastically replied that he had
and the gentleman he was talking to turned out to be the owner, Geoff Quinton, of Quincrete, who owned
the pit at that time. Fortunately for David, Geoff was an even worse driver than he but as a quick learner
David soon came to terms with what was required of him and continued driving there for around five years.
At that time, the area was all waste land and consisted of a Nissan hut, a caravan, belonging to Quincrete
an office belonging to RC Norman, a tea hut and around twelve lorries that would come in, load up and go
off to the local areas to unload.
The cliff area was dug out and the stone was then graded in to three different sizes using the water from
the lakes to aid the cleaning process. The larger lake, on the right hand side as you go in, is a natural lake
and water was taken from there whilst the dirty water was then emptied back in to the lake on the left.
Some mining also took place in the larger lake and was then emptied on to dry land.
There was also a cement tower and the customers would say what consistency of sand, gravel and cement
they required and the lorry drivers would take it directly to them.
This is all I have been able to piece together but if anyone has other stories or photos, I would be delighted
to learn of them and add them to my piece

july 2023

therese coffey letter of support for cof

As you know, our local MP, Thérèse Coffey, has been supportive of our venture from the start. We wrote to let her know we had submitted a full application to the Community Ownership Fund in June, and she has responded by urging the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, to support our bid.

july 2023

'love' at holton pits - photo taken by edith summerhayes

july 2023

Nature in holton pits - by simon thompson

Over the last 25 years I have wandered in the Pits enjoying whatever birds I could find, but it was during the COVID lockdown when I started to really catalogue the birds on a daily basis and to date we have recorded over 100 bird species in the area. I have also started concentrating on butterflies and dragonflies, although on a smaller scale. I came over from Carolina around the end of June [2023] and immediately began to enjoy the early summer birding. We are lucky to have a nice selection of breeding warblers including Blackcap, Garden Warbler and both Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat, although I have only heard one singing of the latter species this year. A Nightingale was heard and seen in May, but didn’t unfortunately seem to hang around to breed. A small flock of Greylag Geese flew over to make our 100th bird species in the Pits. Kingfishers are seen fairly regularly, but one does need to get there early in the day before they get disturbed. A large flock of gulls must have been pushed inland during the rain and windstorm in mid July; most being Black-headed and Herring, but several Mediterranean Gulls were mixed in which are not that common inland. Swifts seem to be back in good numbers this summer and the flocks over Holton village are a wonderful sight as they scream overhead. A pair of Green Woodpeckers must have bred in the local area as I have seen or heard them most days – again best seen early in the day. At least one pair of Buzzards is regularly seen flying over the area and one of the pair is a very pale individual, which I have seen several times over the last couple of years.

The butterflies seem to be in good numbers this summer with lots of Red Admirals, Peacocks and the other common species being easy to see. More uncommon species have included a couple of Purple Hairstreaks, Brown Argus and Small Copper.

I will be away this August, but good birds to look for are Yellow Wagtail and Whinchat as they begin to move south. Also keep an eye skywards for Hobbies which will be feeding on late summer insects.

You can see what’s been seen at the Pits by looking at eBird data and better still start your own account and see what else we can add to the list. See you this autumn.

Bio: Simon is from the Halesworth area and has been living in North Carolina for the past 30 years. He has returned on a yearly basis to wander and look at birds in Suffolk and at Holton Pits. All of his bird data is now on ebird.org where Holton Pits is now a designated Hotspot. Simon and his partner, Chris, have now moved back to the area, although he still travels extensively leading birding trips for Ventures Birding Tours.

july 2023

COF Application submitted

Have a seat, let’s rest a while, after the enormous amount of work that went into creating a Business Plan and filling out the questions for the Community Ownership Fund. Phew. Submitted today. We should hear in 2 months if we have been successful. As you know from the meeting on Sunday, we have backstops and other options.

Minutes of our meeting will shortly be circulated and added to our website.

Tomorrow Holton Parish Council are meeting and on their agenda is our request for some start-up help of £1,000 a year. If you can show your support for this proposal, that would be great. It’s not only useful for our income need but important evidence of Holton Parish Council support for the Pits and our ownership of it.

Our Business Plan and all supporting documents are up on the web page.

june 2023

📻 LISTEN BELOW! …to hear BBC Radio Suffolk’s Luke Deal about the exciting news that Cemex has – subject to contract – accepted our offer to buy Holton Pits for the community, and about what the next steps will be…

Click the image below to listen:

June 2023

Cemex - owners of Holton pits - confirm we can buy holton pits

We have at last (May 26) received formal notification that our offer has been accepted by CEMEX, via their agent Fisher German:

From: xxx@fishergerman.co.uk>
Subject: RE: Cemex/Holton Pits – Subject to Contract
I can confirm that our clients have accepted the Holton Pits Community Interest Company’s offer of £179,000, subject to contract.

Now the second stage of work begins….

May 2023

car boot fundraiser

In terms of money, we made just over a ton, but what a glorious connecting day it was, meeting people, talking pits, passing the time.

Thanks to Nat, who not only contributed eccentric and valuable objects left over from film sets, but also came to work the stall with me.

Thanks to all who contributed – from a knitting machine, art books, DVDs, to some of last years seeds to plant out now – we had a good range to sell. What we didn’t sell we dropped off at a charity shop at the end of the day.

If I had a penny for everyone who asked – Any news? … We are in the limbo time of awaiting news from Fisher German from their clients CEMEX – will they accept our bid? And how can they not accept our bid after all the work we, the local community, have done.

april 2023

£10,000 gifted to Holton Pits fund by reptile relocator

A Reptile relocation scheme, being planned on neighbouring land, has donated £10,000 to Save Holton Pits. This is a generous contribution towards the £200,00 needed by the community. The affordable housing development company, Hastoe Homes, together with their contractor Rose Builders, have donated the funds to Holton Pits along with further funds for the field to the north. The payment to the field is part of a lizard and slow worm translocation requirement from their affordable housing scheme in Martlesham, with the field being a receptor site. As it happens, the location chosen is adjacent to the Pits, and it is hoped that once settled, the lizards and slow worms will cross the boundary to the Pits.

Ulrike Maccariello, Development Director at Hastoe Homes, said, “Our own work is designed to support local communities, with wildlife and sustainability being key components of our Hastoe New Build Standard, and so we are especially delighted to be supporting the project at Holton Pits, which aligns with many of our own values.”

24th april 2023

Listen to David Green, the organiser behind this evening’s Variety Show, talking to BBC Radio Suffolk‘s Jon Wright this morning!

Listen here:

The Variety Show

We did not realise when we set the date, how appropriate it would be. Not only was it the last major fundraiser for the Pits before we submitted our bid TODAY (Monday 24 April), but the show became the ultimate show of local support for Holton Pits community ownership. There was standing room only – “keep the change” people kept saying, “it’s going to a good cause“.

The evening will go down in the annals of Holton history! WIth all chairs used, it soon became clear that Colin had to find extra chairs from the dungeons of sheds, cleaning off years of dust. Jamie arrived with a van load of cakes, tea and coffee. The Raffle which contained a delicious cheese and wine basket, a men’s watch and a night in the woodland cabin, raised £200, and we ran out of tickets!

A star of the show was the MC, the jovial Bill Mahood, together with the stage curtain, which closed or opened at unexpected times. He introduced the local talent, starting with:

Halesworth Handbell Ringers played delicate tunes with their American handbells, held by black gloved-hands.

Jason Busby was at the organ throughout the show, playing solo, linking acts and providing contributions to poem and comedy performances.

The newly named OffCut Choir gave its inaugural performance of this “out of Cut” incarnation – and boy did they sing well!

Edith Summerhayes read the atmospheric poem, Shingle Street, by Blake Morrison, a spell-binding image of a Suffolk hamlet with a dark past.

“From Shingle Street/ To Orford Ness/ The waves maraud,/ The winds oppress,/ The earth can’t help/ But acquiesce/ For this is east/ And east means loss,/ A lessening shore, receding ground, /Three feet gone last year, four feet this/ Where land runs out and nothing’s sound./ Nothing lasts long on Shingle Street”

Chris Turner and the Halesworth Strummers played us out of both sets, with great harmonised tunes. 

Beth Keys-Holloway and Bryn Eden (guitarist)  gave an energy-filled performance of a Nina Simon song.

Clare Durrant and Jane Parker played a very moving violin and harp duet – the two musicians had evidently met at the Pits and had began practicing together.

Pete Sewell and Vicky Lambert, guitar, flute and whistle, were a delight to listen to with their Irish and Scottish foot-tapping tunes.

Gini Williams performed a hilarious and ironic monologue of an ‘antique dealer’; who was proudly savvy to the tricks of the trade, but ultimately gullible in taking £100 for a picture which turned out to be worth  millions.

What other community could produce a programme of such variety and virtuosity. Ultimately the evening was a great success, raising over £1,000 for the cause. Pity about the raffle tickets running out!

18th april 2023

Click below to listen to BBC Radio at Holton Pits yesterday morning talking to locals and bumping into our very own Marion, one of our Directors. Presenter Luke Deal also interviewed Rachel about our final fundraising push in advance of the looming deadline.

Click to listen

Rebecca to Holton Primary School

Rebecca and Rachel visited Holton Primary School to talk to the children about the Pits: its history, archaeology, and its importance as an open space.

Rebecca had prepared a thorough Powerpoint presentation and Rachel bought along some of the finds from the field: finds of metal objects which people walking through the land had lost between 1300 AD and World War 2.

10th april 2023

Blyth Otter Group support letter received

7th april 2023

With the campaign to ‘Save Holton Pits’ in full swing, Geoff Wakeling (Suffolk District Council) has been busy exploring the site and has made a short film to support the campaign and show just how important it is to wildlife and the people who use it every day.

Many thanks, Geoff – marvellous stuff!

Click the image below to watch Geoff's video:

6th april 2023

• Link to article: https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/23440689.holton-pits-bid-buy-fishing-lake-dog-walking-spot/

Our Member of Parliament, Dr Therese Coffey, has written to us confirming her support for our campaign and is urging Michael Gove to support our application to the government’s Community Ownership Fund.

We’ve just heard that Hammonds of Halesworth have donated £10,000 to our appeal! This is an amazing gift and greatly boosts our fundraising effort. Thank you Hammonds.

24th March 2023

Suffolk Wildlife Trust letter of support. Read here:

click to read

24th march 2023

From an Instagram post by ‘The Suffolk Project‘:

“The Suffolk Project is a new photographic study of the East Anglian county, with a particular interest in the rural landscape, agriculture and conservation. I’m just getting started but, inspired by the work of Suffolk writers such as Adrian Bell, George Ewart Evans and Ronald Blythe, my ultimate aim is to create an archive of authentic Suffolk imagery and stories, and seek out and record the unique character of the county and its people and industries.“

• Link to the post and images: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqKZsumIR6i/

MArch 2023

fundraising update:

Thank you to all who have so generously contributed so far.

Here’s the breakdown : –

CEMEX have indicated we need to bid £180,000 for the site.
We need £20,000 to cover our costs. So our target is £200,000 in total.

We have a potential backer for £100,000

We have raised £30,000 through your generous donations
We have corporate pledges for a further £30,000
Total potential: £60,000

Therefore we are looking to secure £20,000 to reach the bid of £180,000
On top of that we need another £20,000 to cover our costs.

March 2023

Marion on her bike!

Marion Gaze is going for a bike ride to raise money for Holton Pits. Here’s a link to her ‘Just Giving‘ page:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/saveholtonpits

21st march 2023

GEN-X Radio

Rebecca’s radio interview

She’s done it again – spreading the news on local radio!

Listen below to Rebecca being interviewed by GenX Radio’s James Hazell on Tuesday (21 March 2023). Rebecca Horton talking to GenX Radio’s James Hazell about the community’s campaign to save Holton Pits

Listen here

march 2023

Leaflets go out to raise more awareness:

March 2023

Further press coverage…

East Anglia Daily Times

Read the EADT article here

march 2023

Lackford lakes visit

Two of Holton Pits CIC’s directors, Kevin and Caron, visited Lackford Lakes near Bury St. Edmunds recently to collect some ideas. A former gravel workings, Lackford Lakes was ‘gifted’ to Suffolk Wildlife Trust by Cemex. It is both an ‘open’ and ‘closed’ site with prescribed walking paths, but with nature prioritised over human intervention and dog walking.

16th march 2023

bbc Radio suffolk

LISTEN BELOW! …and hear Rebecca Horton speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk’s Guy Campbell about Holton Pits and the ‘Go Fund Me‘ page she has organised in support of our wider fundraising efforts – top stuff!!

Listen here

26th February 2023

Over 80 came to our general community meeting in Holton, on a cold Sunday night (26 February) to hear our update: that, now constituted, we can start to raise funds – but can we make £60k by mid-April?

A highlight of the evening was a display of finds from metal detectorist, Nick Welsh – evidence of who has walked through this land over time.

22nd february 2023

ITV Anglia News

The Suffolk villagers facing a race against time to stop the sale of their local beauty spot

See in full here:

19th february 2023

East Anglian Daily Times Article

Suffolk: Plea for £60,000 to save Holton Pits for public

Read in full here:

january 2023

Rich history found by detectorists:

Thanks to Cheryl and the detectorists, here is a catalogue of what people found on a single day’s dig across the land directly north of Holton Pits. So much evidence of Roman through to Tudor finds. Unsurprisingly, a few World War 2 dog-tags were found: identified immediately, and where possible returned to their American family. There were plenty of hammered and buttons but the most stunning was the gold coin.

JANUARY 2023

The Government’s “blueprint” Environmental Improvement Plan, released in January 2023, includes:

“Creating and restoring at least 2,000 square miles of new wildlife habitats. Ensuring everyone in England lives within a 15-minute walk of woodlands, wetlands, parks and rivers”

It covers how the government will:

“Create and restore at least 500,000 hectares of new wildlife habitats, starting with 70 new wildlife projects including 25 new or expanded National Nature Reserves and 19 further Nature Recovery Projects.“

. . . all of which fits Holton Pits ‘like a glove’!!

Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, said:

“Our Environmental Improvement Plan sets out how we will continue to improve our environment here in the UK and around the world. Nature is vital for our survival, crucial to our food security, clean air, and clean water as well as health and well-being benefits.    “We have already started the journey and we have seen improvements. We are transforming financial support for farmers and landowners to prioritise improving the environment, we are stepping up on tree planting, we have cleaner air, we have put a spotlight on water quality and rivers and are forcing industry to clean up its act.    “Whether you live in a city or town, in the countryside or on the coast, join us in our national endeavour to improve the environment.”

September 2022

First gathering at the pits

4 September 2022 – Gaina and Rachel invited anyone who could to meet us at the Pits to clarify what was being sold, and to discuss what could or should be done. We agreed to investigate nominating the site as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), to research the process involved, and return to members for their confirmation.

Meeting Public – ACV

We were over a 100 members by this stage, many coming to the village hall to offer their support. The pros and cons of becoming an Asset of Community Value (ACV), and what protection it offered, were presented. A vote was taken, with no one voting against. Thereby a nomination for ACV status was submitted on 14 September 2022.
A vote was also taken about whether we should put a vote in ourselves. While most in favour, and non against, there was a handful of reservations and abstentions.