Protecting biodiversity

Sir, Tim King (Letters, June 30), questioning the wildlife value of the Trap Grounds scrubland, is obviously unaware that the County Wildlife Sites Selection Panel recommended in 2002 that the status of SLINC (Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation) should be extended from the reed bed in the east (already so designated) "to include the scrub and grassland area to the west, up to the railway line". Nor can he be aware that in the same year Oxford City Council's plans to develop the site were opposed on ecological grounds by the following organisations: the Ashmolean Natural History Society, BBOWT, English Nature, the Environment Agency, the Oxford Ornithological Society, the Oxford Preservation Trust, and the RSPB. If the considered views of these expert organisations are not enough to convince him, I suggest that he should visit the site himself. If he goes in the early morning, he is likely to see a water vole in the pool near the railway line; if he goes at dusk in the next two weeks, he will certainly see glow-worms in the damp places under the willows. At any time of day he will hear the barking of deer and the songs of Linnet and Sedge Warbler. He might be lucky enough to see Spotted Flycatcher, Bullfinch, and Kingfisher. If he knew where to look, he would find a badgers' set and the places where slow-worms sun themselves. I hope this is enough to demonstrate that the Trap Grounds site should be preserved in its entirety, in the interests of protecting biodiversity and local people's right to enjoy fresh air and peaceful exercise.