Wildlife Circus

Build Higher Build higher they said, We need 1300 new homes a year. But why Tolworth we asked? Not on land that soaks up the water that keeps your feet dry. Why destroy more green verges to extend the misnamed Greenway? Build car parks they said, But not on Metropolitan protected areas, But perversely the Mayor said ‘go ahead’. Build road and rail they said, With slip roads and spurs across the green belt, We can access more housing land. We said stop neglect! Protect hedgerows planted before the Enclosure Acts with it’s omelette of brown hairstreak eggs. We already have a railway with its own ‘trip’ freight- Slow worms glory on its embankment. Don’t do this on ‘Our Place’ on the apple space. Not on Richard Jefferies footprints, Don’t destroy the edgelands. by Alison Fure Tolworth Apple Store

The Tolworth Area Plan was on Wednesday's Agenda of the  council Growth Committee, although it didn't grow very far - being deferred at first base - despite the presence of several interested parties wishing to make representations. Bristows haulage yard, former mill site    Who is the TAP for and whose future is it meant to guide, given that it would be a material consideration in determining future planning applications? If development is inevitable, can it be made more relevant to the local community, providing an environment, more meaningful to Tolworth, rather than serving outside interests. Recent  sequestering of  natural heritage and cultural assets for the use of offshore companies and hotels does not engender reassurance. Why for example, are we building multi-storey car parks when in other boroughs  they are being demolished in an effort to meet housing targets and tackle air pollution. From the viewpoint of someone who responded to the c...

see Tolworth Area Plan         I was disappointed in a number of inaccuracies in the Tolworth Area Plan consultation, as seen at Tolworth Community Library (13.6.17).  After showing these flaws to the consultants at the time, I expected to see them corrected in the on-line version. A large area of the 'green' shown within the boundary already has development  planned and by not including this as brown land, makes it  appear as if Tolworth could 'afford' to lose some of its open space to yet more development, such as Crossrail; as the first item in the Guiding Principles (see left) it rather biases the consultation. Another unfortunate omission is the Tolworth Apple Store at Riverhill - a publicly owned 19th  century building- that could provide the focal point for a rich narrative about the orchard heritage that exists in the area; linking current small-holdings, farms and former large estates such as Gosbury Hill to Chessington Hall, with it...