Wildlife Circus

    This post is regarding Biodiversity loss and local extinctions in the borough. It was read at  the deputation at the full council meeting 24.4.19 and includes a litany of lost species. Every day I pass this building on Cambridge Road, which reminds me of the house martins that used to nest under the eaves of the previous building  - The Peel Pub. In early years the nests used to be poked out, but at least the birds kept coming. Then they stopped coming. Now they can never return as they have been designed out of the system. The urban gradient in parts of  Kingston has increased beyond the tolerance of many urban species, including house sparrows  - a UK Priority Species, included on the list of Section 41 under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 - due to its massive decline. This Act confers on the council - a legal duty to protect - and makes this species 'material' in any planning application. Kingston's own Good Practice Guide...

Bulldozing of vegetation and leaving it in opposing piles is not a great way to manage a Site of Nature Conservation Importance.     Exposing the subterranean chambers and other features of industrial archaeological importance; usually occurs when a planning application is in the pipeline.      For the time being the filter beds are  still home  for  the heron, fox and  lapwing  along with many other species seen today: redwings, robins, blackbirds, song thrush, pochard, tufties and gadwall.