Wildlife Circus

  This week saw the eagerly awaited publication of Wild City, by Florence Wilkinson. This issued a manifesto for promoting greater awareness of the needs of urban wildlife; focused on some unusual urban species and gave voice to some interesting wildlife campaigns. Florence came to the Cambridge Road Estate during September 2020 and listened to bats using bat detection equipment,  foraging around the dark 'twittens', or alleyways. She has produced a very faithful account of that evening and what we saw and heard pg 74-84 including a mention of  the Nathusius' pipistrelle that is one of three pipistrelle species regularly recorded on the estate. On page 225-233 she continues 'underground', on the slow worms at Kingsmeadow. Its a lovely book with several London entries including: the hedgehogs at Regents Park, London's green roof guru, and the Culex molestus (you will have to make a purchase in order to ascertain what one is)!

                                            Air raid shelter Hillcroft Dear Reader please fell free to use any or all of the objection below, you only have until tonight to object. This is part of a series of 4 posts. Dear Sir or Madam Objection to Hillcroft redevelopment 22/000607 I object to this as being environmentally destructive and the mitigation is derisory. The ecological work is disjointed and difficult to follow. All the features found appear to be destroyed. These are the ecological features to which the mitigation hierarchy should be applied starting with AVOID as per the National Planning Policy Framework. There is no logic to ‘amenity’ grass containing so many species and there are swathes of bluebells which cannot be ignored. The evaluations are flawed, the...

      Cedar of Lebanon in front of Powell House   This is the fourth post about Hillcroft College planning application 22/000607 and pertains to trees. It was written by C. Mellish and discusses the trees to be lost, which could total 73. There is a  lack of mitigation for the multiple functions provided by the woodland, with no recognition for the veteran oaks that will be lost. Veteran trees are considered by Natural England to be 'irreplaceable habitats' for the purpose of the Biodiversity Net Gain metric; previous posts pertain to: The Planning Consultation Good Growth by C. Mellish  The development plans and bats by A. Fure Hillcroft Heritage: Powell House by A. Fure Oak to the rear of Powell House   Claire writes: Hillcroft College planning application is the worst for nature that I've seen for a long time. Residents raising concerns about the number of trees to be felled, are told that they are "self-seeded and unimportant". The badge...