Wildlife Circus

Dear Councillors This is a friendly reminder that legally public bodies have a duty under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 to consider biodiversity in all of their functions. I attach the London Guidance from Natural England and some footnotes as to how this is legally applied. I also attach the Kingston Good Practice Guide, which I imagine most councillors and officers have never seen. I know some of you are concerned about this, as I have met with you; some of you think that there are officers taking account of these statutory obligations (well they are not) and there are others that think that housing targets are more important than biodiversity- but then you have decided what the law is, and that children don’t need access to nature and clean air for good physical and mental health. If areas are unfit for hedgehogs, are they really fit for us; and didn’t we sign up to the London National Park City? Remember that the council -as a public body- also...

Natural England's main interest in the Hydro planning application is to ensure that the EUROPEAN AND UK LAW PERTAINING TO BATS enshrined within the Habitats Regulations are upheld. The issues pertaining to the aspirations within the Core Strategy, Biodiversity Strategy, Heritage etc.  should be determined locally (at Planning committee meetings). If a bat roost is to be affected by development activities, a licence from Natural England will need to be obtained.All species of bat are fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) through their inclusion in Schedule 5. All bats are also included in Schedule 2 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, & c.) Regulations,1994. The Act and Regulations make it illegal to:   intentionally or deliberately kill, injure or capture (take) bats;  deliberately disturb bats (whether in a roost or not);  damage, destroy or obstruct access to bat roosts;   possess ...

Hydro have engaged a new ecological consultancy, EDP, to undertake this seasons ecological surveys at the Filter Beds. Natural England have advised that 'the consultants should demonstrate how bats are using the basins as a foraging area at optimal conditions'. The council have engaged their own expert from Baker, Shepherd and Gillespie to advise on the process. This means that the Filter Beds should be full of natural water and the early surveys should achieve adequate spring temperatures and not these inclement <10 degrees we are currently experiencing. It is up to us to monitor the level of water in the basins, by  maintaining an accurate record of photographic evidence. The previous consultants produced misleading reports showing summer bat surveys with basins full of water, yet there were no leaves on the trees in the photographs. It is likely that the new surveys and tweaking of the design (emphasis on a dark corridor for bat foraging) will be presented in A...

Legislation to Halt Biodiversity Loss This is a bit of a convoluted article but it is important  to demonstrate that our Local Planning Authority has a duty to protect Seething Wells under International Convention, (enshrined in our Planning Law). The first global agreement to protect wildlife was signed by over 150 world leaders in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It is often called the ‘Rio Convention’ and participating countries are required to draw up plans detailing how they intend to protect their biological diversity. National Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPS) The European Union has now made the further commitment to halt biodiversity loss by 2020 at Nagoya.  All signatories to the UN Convention on Biodiversity, are supposed to draw up national biodiversity plans. Together, their voluntary actions are supposed to halt over-fishing, control invasive species, reduce pollution minimise the pressure on coral reefs from ocean acidification, and halt the loss of geneti...