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...

Sediment: view from the Hogsmill Sediment: view from the Bonesgate A wet start: - our band of twelve walkers- gathering at the confluence of the Bonesgate with the Hogsmill - discussed the amount of sediment flowing down the minor river from Chessington and the effect on its fauna. From a fish perspective this can transport beneficial food resources as the routine presence of the kingfisher testifies, perching just above the deep pool carved at the join.     However, in times of spate the system can be  overloaded with suffocating sediment. Lucy read  'A Ramble by the River Side' by John Clare, a highly accessible poem with resonances of the Hogsmill, due to the coincidence in species such as teal; followed by a passage from Richard Jefferies on finding bluebells in the district with a reluctance to divulge the location; based on his wish that we find beauty for ourselves. We discussed how sensitive species can be lost during urban densificatio...

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...