CAMPIGNERS who have raised more than £80,000 to buy and save a local hill that’s been described as a ‘patch of wild nature’ in the heart of York plan to produce a song to celebrate their success.
Composer Kate Pearson will be working with the Friends of Severus Hill to write a new ‘Song for Severus’ – which the campaigners hope one day soon to be able to sing from the hilltop.
Kate approached the group after reading about them in the Press.
The musician and composer, who works at the University of York and also as a freelance composer, is writing a musical for the Royal Northern College of Music about a campaign to save a natural space in Manchester.
And when she read about the efforts to save Severus Hill in Holgate, she thought it was a natural fit.
She will be joining the Friends and other members of the local community for a songwriting session at Holy Redeemer Church Hall on Boroughbridge Road from 10am-12 noon on June 29.
Jo Patton of the Friends of Severus Hill said as soon as he mentioned his dream of singing a ‘Song of Severus’ from the top of Severus Hill, Kate said: ‘I’m in’.
He said the aim of the songwriting session on June 29th was for Kate to write the music, and for local community members to contribute words about what Severus Hill meant to them. All who want to take part are welcome.
The Friends are hoping to buy the hill – which has been ‘reclaimed by nature’ after being fenced off for more than 30 years and is now an oasis of trees, plants and wildlife – so as to make sure it is never developed.
Yorkshire Water’s sister company Keyland, which owns the hill, is asking for £170,000 – and has given the Friends until the end of June to put together a realistic bid.
But following the success of their fundraising campaign, the Friends are optimistic of success.
As reported in The Press, they smashed through their initial fundraising target of £70,000 at the end of last month.
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They say with gift aid, the almost £82,000 they have raised so far is worth more like £96,000.
And they stress that they only ever aimed to raise half the cash through local fundraising – with the rest coming from grants and funding applications.
They’re in the process of speaking to grant funders, Jo said – but are still open to donations from local businesses.
“We’re looking for one or two ‘golden grants’ that would help us over the top,” he said.
The group is also staging a series of community fundraising events – including an online webinar on June 20th that will be given by Simon Elliott, a foremost expert on Septimius Severus, the Roman emperor after whom the hill is named.
One story goes that Septimius, who died in York in 211 AD, may have been cremated in huge funeral pyre on top of the hill.
Kate Pearson said that when she learned about the campaign to save the hill, she was keen to do what she could to help.
“Music is what I do,” she said. “And this is such a wonderful community project.”
Find out more about the Friends of Severus Hill fundraising events on social media @SeverusHill.
To donate to the campaign to save Severus Hill, visit crowdfunder.co.uk/p/severushill
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