THE Friends of Holgate Community Garden would like to say a big thank you to those that came to take part in our Beating the Bounds event on Sunday, an ancient tradition of protecting precious land by leading a procession around its boundary.

Children, grown-ups, parents and grandparents joined the procession led by Rev John Lee and Rev Hannah Shingler from St Paul’s Church and Rachael Maskell, Labour candidate for York Central - and not forgetting the Friends’ very own master-of-ceremonies, Chris Barrett, complete with feathered stick.

Rhythm was kept by the fantastically versatile Ukulele Sunshine Revival who also provided music for the event.

Over 100 people were in attendance to show support for this important community space.

Holgate Community Garden and park was recently recognised as an Asset of Community Value and we also applied to City of York Council for the space to given village green status to further safeguard it.

This looked set to be rejected, but in the event councillors voted to leave the matter “undetermined”. Beating the Bounds was our less formal way of protecting the park, reinforcing how valuable this space is to the community and beyond.

This vital asset could be destroyed under the City of York Council’s controversial plans to build an access road through the area in to the proposed York Central development.

As a community group, we urge the council to recognise how important this green space is, and consider alternate options with less detrimental impact for existing communities, traffic congestion and the environment.

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