Park climate change sign will be blot on landscape

• THE Friends of Gillespie Park welcomed the council’s decision a few years ago to erect a wind turbine in the park, as a modest but nevertheless helpful step towards producing sustainable energy. The turbine produces the very moderate amount of electricity needed to supply the Ecology Centre building.
However, we are now very concerned indeed by a proposal by the council to erect a very large (12 feet long) advertising sign on the park railings (intended to be visible to passengers on the neighbouring railway) carrying words such as “Islington Council – acting on climate change”, and to require the cost of some £1,200 to be met from the Ecology Centre nature conservation budget.
The sign will obscure views into the park; will be a blot on the landscape in what is supposed to be a tranquil area of natural beauty; and in any event is likely to be ineffective as very few people travelling at high speed on the train and immersed in iPods, computers and newspapers will in fact read it.
In these times of economic hardship, and with further funding cuts on the horizon, we believe this significant sum of council tax-payers’ money should be spent on the ecology of the park and/or to support its festival and, in any event, for the benefit of the community. If the council wishes to blow its own trumpet, that should not be at the expense of nature conservation in Gillespie Park or elsewhere.
SUE JANDY
Secretary
CHRIS ASHBY, DAVID BRAINE, DIANE BURRIDGE, REV STEPHEN COLES, EMMA DIXON, PAT TUSON
Committee, Friends of Gillespie Park