I am sorry that S Grimstone does not like the scrub clearance work which is being done at Moulsecoomb Wild Park (Letters, April 9).

It looks bleak now, just as a flower meadow looks harsh after the hay has been cut, but if this work is not done then we will finally lose all the grassland wildlife which was the main reason the park was designated in the first place.

Mr/Ms Grimstone makes a comparison with the clearance of the rainforests, and there is indeed an analogy there, but it is not as indicated.

For the wildlife of what’s left of Wild Park’s old flowery downland pasture is itself like a miniature rainforest. There is an extraordinary abundance of flowers, grasses and mosses there, as well as a rich fungal flora. There are, too, hundreds of species of beetles, butterflies, bees, grasshoppers, crickets, moths and others – many of which are rare and vulnerable. Indeed, a century ago Wild Park was famous for its special butterflies and moths, and folk would come from all over the country to see them.

What fragments of the park’s ancient grasslands survived were disappearing under scrub, and the work Brighton and Hove City Council is doing will link up these precious fragments and make their long-term future secure.

Nonetheless, about 50% of the park’s woodland and scrub will be retained, which is far more than there was at the park’s creation in 1925.

The council’s work is not beyond criticism, though. Its failure to consult local wildlifers properly has led to some bad mistakes, including the possible loss of a rare Clearwing moth dependant on the park’s Wayfaring Tree scrub.

David Bangs
Ewhurst Road, Brighton