Is It Too Late for Seven Fields? 🌿🌾🍃

The Management Plan is a signed agreement by Swindon Borough Council

Swindon Borough Council confirmed the hay cut at Seven Fields would take place on 13/14 September. As of 19 September, it has still not been carried out.

The Management Plan is a signed agreement by Swindon Borough Council, setting out how this land must be managed as part of its Local Nature Reserve status. Meadows should be cut after mid July and before the end of August, or very early September. A late cut risks collapse of plants, loss of food for pollinators, and cover for small mammals. If neglected, coarse grasses dominate, nutrients build up and scrub takes hold. A late cut also risks the hay rotting on the ground and smothering next year’s growth.

Seven Fields was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 1995. Proper management is not optional. A late cut may take years to repair and risks undoing decades of conservation work.

With the Local Plan now up for renewal and a call for housing sites underway, residents are asking serious questions. Is this continued neglect simply poor management, or is it a ploy to let Seven Fields degrade and later push it for development?

The hay must be cut, dried and removed without further delay. The longer it is left, the greater the damage. Seven Fields is one of our most important green spaces. It deserves protection, not neglect.