Save Weekley Hall Wood

Home
United Kingdom
Kettering
Save Weekley Hall Wood

We are a community group of dedicated and passionate people trying save Weekley Hall Wood & Meadow from development.

28/05/2026

The Midlands Festival of Nature 2026 returns to Wicksteed Park this weekend. Organised by the amazing Kettering Nature Group.

For more information please see the event page: Midlands Festival of Nature

The park will be packed with wildlife groups, conservation organisations, artists, musicians, authors, walks, workshops, talks and hands-on activities for all ages.

You’ll be able to:
• Join a bat walk at dusk
• Dissect owl pellets and discover what owls have been eating
• Head out on guided bird and wildlife walks
• Enjoy poetry and wild storytelling
• Spend the afternoon listening to live music in the sunshine
• Get involved in real citizen science
• Explore the Badger Exhibition - a collaboration between Northamptonshire Badger Group and 16th Kettering Scouts group - running throughout the weekend in the Learning Centre.

Rivers of Hope will be joining the festival on the Saturday, with their Boat of Hope, and a special River Rights Workshop on the Saturday evening at 6 pm in the Terrace Suite.

There will also be a free bat walk, led by Kettering Nature Groups Adam Riley, setting off from the Learning Centre at 8 pm.

Sunday is a quieter, more focussed day, with the stage packed away to make room for citizen science, guided walks and opportunities to get closer to the work, the wildlife and the people helping protect it.

Sunday includes:
• Small Mammal Surveying
• Moth Trap Releases
• Owl Pellet Workshops
• Bird, Wildlife and Ranger Walks
• National Emergency Briefing screening and discussion.

The National Emergency Briefing is on Sunday from 1pm to 3.30pm in the Terrace Suite.

Love Kettering Mayor of Kettering Kettering Town Council Kettering Eco Group Natural-Ise Kettering Green Party Glendon Farm Montessori and Forest School William Street Community Garden The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants

26/05/2026

This weekends Midlands Festival of Nature is going to be incredible.

Head along to Wicksteed Park on Saturday and Sunday 💚😄

30/04/2026

The team want to share a couple of things to watch with you.
'The Other Taylor Swift' is a wonderful short film that is free to watch on the link in the comments. With Kettering Nature Group Swift Streets project, this gives a great insight into these amazing birds. 💚

Secondly, there is a free showing of 'Our Land' at the Savoy Corby on Wednesday, 6th May - again, see the link in the comments to get your FREE ticket. This is the first film highlighting Right to Roam.

09/04/2026

We took a walk through the wood and meadow in the glorious spring sun. The trees were alive with bird song and we saw Blue T**s emerge from two of the Kettering Nature Group nest boxes.

Butterflies abounded - we spotted Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Orange Tips and Peacocks - who would flutter down and display their wings on the path around the meadow.

It’s so beautiful there, we really are so lucky to have it on our doorstep! 💚

03/01/2026

The Save Weekley Hall Wood team send our sincerest condolences to the family of the late David Garrett. He was a wonderful poet, and we were honoured to have him perform his poem 'A Woods Lament' at both our Fundraising gig at Kettering Arts Centre and our Winter Woodland Festival in late 2021.

David's powerful words really brought home the horror he felt as he saw the ancient woodland at Weekley Hall Wood, which he played in as a child, felled in the 1960's for ironstone quarrying.

It reminds us how history repeats itself, with nature being destroyed in the name of progress.

David amended his poem for these performances. It originally ended on the line:
"But Weekley Hall Woods, we're sorry, for we grieve too late for you."

However, he added further lines to acknowledge the hope that we were able to save what is left:
"But there remains a patch of trees,
A remnant of that time now past,
A glimmer of hope, a dream, a prayer,
That the last few embers of this wood we'll spare."

Thank you to David's family for permission to repost his wonderful performance.

13/11/2025

A few of the Save Weekley Hall Wood team have been over to the Save Barton Seagrave's Spinneys (SBSS) public inquiry which has taken place over the last two weeks.

There were a lot of reminders from our public inquiry, which was just starting around now in 2023, including an incredible evening of public speakers on the 6th November.
We are so grateful to everyone who spoke up for the wood and meadow two years ago, and there was similar passion shown by the members of the public at the Barton Spinney’s inquiry. Here is one of those speeches from local councillor Emily Fedorowycz.

We really hope the planning inspector will find on the side of the campaign and the council. 🙏

05/11/2025

Save Barton Seagrave's Spinneys (SBSS) are going through their Public Inquiry to try and save the green space from housing developers.
Here’s their report from today.

They really, really need people to speak up for the green space tomorrow night at the public session in Thrapston (yes, in the same venue as our public inquiry!)
Read below for how to get stuck in and help save this lovely green area.

*****
DAY TWO
Fireworks night...? Fireworks day more like!!!

John Pegg's response caused MOH's barrister to abruptly stop in her tracks mid cross examination of him after a mere 26 minutes, when she had the poorly researched credulity to question his qualifications and experience 😂. In comparison, their landscape expert endured nearly 2hrs worth.

Law 101 - don't ask a question that you don't know the answer to yourself. Mic drop, slam dunk.

NOW.... YES, BOLD CAPITALS, THAT WAS ENTERTAINING BUT THIS NEXT PART IS VERY IMPORTANT!!

‼️ WE NEED MORE OF YOU TO ATTEND TOMORROW EVENING - THIS IS A PERSONAL REQUEST FROM THE INSPECTOR HIMSELF ‼️
(6PM THURDAY 6TH NOV)

MOH is arguing that us residents don’t know what a good landscape is, because we are lay people and not qualified experts.

Team NNC defended this foolish statement well, saying that a person with community connections living near this land truly appreciates the church, big spinney wooded skyline, the cricket ground and the historical buildings etc. She sees the landscape as being enjoyed by the 'movement throughout'. Even though MOH say the appeal site is just grassland, NNC's landscape expert says the break of urban housing within that would ruin the perceptual impact of the feeling moving all around the site, enjoying it as a whole. Including walking through and up to, or indeed from Wicksteed Park. This is obvious to all of us, but we need to tell them again.

MOH went on by avoiding the answering of many questions by saying that only the residents can answers that, not me.

SO THIS IS WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO.

THE INSPECTOR, NNC, AND MOH HAVE REQUESTED YOU TO COME TOMORROW EVENING TO TELL THEM.

If you don't feel comfortable speaking, any one of us will read a statement on your behalf and you can wave from the gallery. The more people who can attend, the better. This is truly your last chance to have a personal say on the matter.

Please let me, Tina, or Clare know, and we will help you with logistics.

07/09/2025

We had an amazing time at the William Street Community Garden Harvest Festival - a brilliant event and we were very glad to be invited along! 👏💚

However, we just found out that North Northants Council are going to scrap their 2030 net zero target date on Tuesday. When we started the Save Weekley Hall Wood campaign we never could work out how declaring a climate emergency and setting a net zero date fitted with allowing the destruction of a wood and meadow.

There’s a website that has been set up to make it easy for you to email an objection - see this link - https://ne14.co.uk/2030 - to object.

Love Kettering All Saints Parish Church Kettering Kettering Eco Group

03/09/2025

We’re very excited for the William Street Community Garden harvest festival on Saturday!
We’ll be there and so will a load of great bands (and knowing William St, quite a lot of beer too 🍻) 😁

Love Kettering

02/09/2025

📣 PSA. The public right of way from the quarry road to Grange Road, Geddington is closed for the next five days for a motocross event.

Address

Weekley Hall Wood
Kettering

Website

http://www.saveweekleyhallwood.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Save Weekley Hall Wood posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Save Weekley Hall Wood:

Shortcuts

Want your organisation to be the top-listed Non Profit Organisation in Kettering?