ON Sunday, October 15, the Friends of Holgate Community Garden held “Make Some Noise! & Scarecrows” - an event that invited locals, non-locals, friends, strangers to join our special community over in this part of York.

Children played together, people listened to music, shared food and made new friends - and an impromptu pile of raked leaves provided hours of fun for both young and old.

Despite such an amazing and joyful congregation, it is difficult to ignore the fact that there are potential designs to destroy this thriving community, should the Southern Option be put forward by the York Central Partnership in the coming weeks.

During the York Central access road consultation we witnessed overwhelming objection to this option, which will no doubt be reflected when the data is made public.

This opposition can also be seen in our petition which has over 1,200 signatures of support for the park.

If public consensus and community impact are a genuine factor in making a decision over access, then the York Central Partnership should pursue this option no longer.

There is so much potential over in our part of Holgate, both in the people and places that it is made up from - and we have exciting plans for the future.

But for this positive place-making and community shaping to happen, this threat of destruction needs to be removed with the outright rejection of the Southern Option.

Benjamin Hall, On behalf of the Friends of Holgate Community Garden, York