Three minutes to save 114 trees: includes guest blog from Russell Miller (and if you have longer than 3 minutes)

What would you say if you only had 3 minutes to save 114 mature trees?

https://historic-hospitals.com/2022/10/09/st-anns-hospital-tottenham/

The text below is a good start which Russell Miller relayed to the planning committee last week. Whilst councillors weren't listening, the evidenced based commentary will still be here when the natural environment and our children's future is firmly cemented under concrete.

He attests: -

'However you spin it the fact is this development is bad for climate change, bad for wildlife, bad for air quality and increases car dependency. It fails local strategic planning policy objectives on Climate Change, Biodiversity, Air Quality, Walking and Cycling, Trees, as well as the GLA London Plan and Environment Strategy.

1. St Ann’s has a remarkable collection of trees, in an area of currently low (18.7%) canopy cover. This proposal’s will result in ‘the loss of 114 trees, 30 tree groups and 260.5m hedgerow’ –representing nearly a hectare of canopy cover. That’s nearly 2 football pitches!

2. Remember the 40C temperatures in July 2022. Heat at tarmac and pavement levels is much higher. This development would produce a dangerously hot environment of roads and paving. We know temperatures will continue to rise and that green has to replace grey, not the other way round. Haringey residents are already dying from Climate Change, and this will make matters worse. Tree canopy is vital in mitigating Climate Change.

3. Current planning policy (Haringey’s and the Mayor’s London Plan) states that developments should retain existing trees of value. But this development will remove 112 healthy trees, mostly Category B trees: 88% with life expectancy of over 20 years, and 47% over 40 years. Much of it to provide roads for cars.

4. We could have a low car development in accordance with Haringey’s new Walking and Cycling Action Plan - but instead we will have 167 additional parking spaces and a new road system in a Low Traffic Neighbourhood. We lose trees and grass to gain hardstanding, tarmac and cars.

5. Haringey’s Air Quality Action Plan notes that air pollution particularly affects children and older people - and that areas with poor air quality are often the least affluent, areas like St Ann’s Ward. The loss of green canopy along St Ann’s Road will further impact on Air Quality.

6. Recognising the health issues associated with cars your Climate Action Plan, promotes ‘ambitious carbon reduction’.

7. In addition to the huge losses of mature trees, we also lose the Warwick Gardens boundary habitat, a north south wildlife corridor that links the rail side SINC to Chestnuts Park. Old trees and connectivity are core to halting biodiversity decline and this development trashes both. Adding swales and green roofs does not compensate for loss of mature habitat and ground level vegetated wildlife corridors. Threatened species like slow worms, hedgehogs and toads will suffer loss of habitat because this development favours cars and roads. ' Please follow clear planning policy guidance and reject this proposal.

If you have longer than 3 minutes take a look at this planning application

Reading Council planning application Number: 221909

Great planning application decision on the Civil War Kings Spy Oak at Caversham. Objections from Woodland Trust, Ancient Tree Forum and the council officer all excellent.  http://planning.reading.gov.uk

  Reading Council's "Natural Environment Consultation Response" doc by

Sarah Hanson, Natural Environment Officer, Planning Policy considerations NPPF Para 180 states: 

"When determining planning applications, local planning authorities should apply the following principles: c) development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats (such as ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees) should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists;" and the ‘wholly exceptional’ reasons being stated as: "63 For example, infrastructure projects (including nationally significant infrastructure projects, orders under the Transport and Works Act and hybrid bills), where the public benefit would clearly outweigh the loss or deterioration of habitat." 

The development does not meet the ‘wholly exceptional’ reason hence is contrary to the NPPF.

see also Bristol Tree Forum website for info on Biodiversity Net Gain pertaining to trees and many additional topics. https://bristoltreeforum.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Please share your thoughts

Most viewed

Heritage Trees part 2: street trees.

Image
  Oaks and maples Cambridge Gardens 2019   Street trees can often be the most beautiful objects in our streets. They are important to their communities as well as having environmental benefits. They are a living history in our landscape and can have particular connections. They may be fragments of a previous landscape incorporated into a modern street scene, such as the oaks at Cambridge Gardens once  part of the Duke of Cambridge's estate.  A great read with information on how to research street trees is a  History of Street Trees by Dr. M. Johnston.  London plane trees CRE 1976 Beech tree, Chesterton Terrace 1976 Studies show that the difference in local tree cover can reflect the various socio-economic groups. In Victorian times middle class areas were planted with many street trees or had higher quality front gardens than working class districts; now referred to as 'green equity'. It can be demonstrated by looking at old photos of the seven roads that were
Read more

Fishing the Hogsmill

Image
Fly-fishing the Hogsmill   It is interesting to see the river from a different perspective: the Hogsmill is popular with anglers at this time of year; although it is unusual to see someone fly- fishing. A chub has just been caught on bread and it looks a good size. Trout are sometimes seen in the Hogsmill and can sit in the weir notch by the school. Our own Richard Jefferies in his book 'Nature Near London'  remarked on the Hogsmill trout as far up as Tolworth Hall Bridge (now the A240). chub    This fish was carefully unhooked and orientated in the swim where it soon finds it way - probably to the next father and son - sitting further upstream. These anglers have caught the 'ghost' koi within the last two weeks and appear to be the second successful pair to catch the pond-escapee in the last few days. Ghost koi are a British invention. They were produced by accident in the early 80’s when a farmer allowed a mirror carp and a koi to spawn together. The offspring
Read more

Seething Wells: they've done it again

Image
The last day of May, I went to see if I could find the black redstart that had been widely reported, no luck but it will turn up again on one of the old buildings. The lush vegetation was looking beautiful between the Filter Beds at Seething Wells. I made a note of the breeding birds: goldfinches twinkling away, blue tits gathering food, sand martins flying over the FB's (only two this year unfortunately) moorhens and some scruffy little coot chicks entangled in the algal blooms.   Proud parents were showing off their four Canada chicks; they can cover a lot of ground in a short space of time they were soon feeding on water pepper and bistort gleaned from  the ziggerat-sided basins. A song thrush sang from the wharf alongside greenfinches as well as the seasonal chiff chaff; although this year all numbers are down, reflecting not only the topsy-turvy Spring but also the continued tumble in insect numbers (even seed eating birds are dependent on insects to feed their young).
Read more