Wildlife Circus

The 240 acre Queen Elizabeth Park is open and we were told by consultants working for the Legacy Delivery Authority that since 2012, 700 wildlife 'units' have been installed and 4,000 trees planted (additional to those there already). These include bird and bat boxes, kingfisher boxes and two otter holts. Whilst the Park was created over an already unique and largely unacknowledged site for wildlife, it is worth highlighting some of the new features and good practice designs, which could be used elsewhere. Interpretation of wise water harvesting  Prior to the development, a  Biodiversity Action Plan was written for the area  and the River Lea was evaluated as London's second river and put at the centre of everything (read more here  River_Lea .) Efforts were made to clean-up the environment and reinstate the banks as natural using similar techniques and materials to those employed along the Hogsmill and Crane rivers. The banks were pulled bank and ...

So the Kingston Society are supporting the  planning application for King George's Gate (the Tesco's site at Tolworth) which has now been submitted (15/10074) even though it falls very short of the requirements of the borough's Local Development Framework (LDF), not least due to the low number of affordable units (90 out of 705). Tesco planning app But the whole ecological assessment is based on a false premise i.e that the nearest statutory designated sites for nature conservation importance are 800 metres away, when in fact they are less than 200 metres. This is not the fault of the consultants acting for Tesco, who have in good faith, obtained information on locally protected sites from the London Biological Records Centre (Greenspace Information for Greater London GiGL). However when Tolworth Court Farm Fields and The Tolworth Moated Manor sites were notified as LNR's (the latter approved in 2008  Moated Manor Council Decision  the council didn't bother...

checking the bat box from the ground Kent design bat box showing fur staining  After a training session for prospective bat roost visitors at Richmond Park, 28.3.15, members of the London Bat Group went to the Roebuck Inn to toast the launch of the London Bat Atlas. It was initiated during 2010 with seed funding from the Vodafone ‘World of a Difference’ fund, which helped employ the services of Richard Law, to gather together the existing data holdings, as well as investigate the type of document and layout we wanted. It took longer to accomplish than we originally thought, but with the help of Greenspace information for Greater London, our group has produced a document, which is as accurate as possible, but easy to access the information. It is an example of the importance of submitting biological records, especially in this time of ‘blink and you miss it’ demolition and re-development. As always it exemplifies those boroughs where there are active bat group membe...

  Whilst the Sustrans might be the best organisation to guide us through the process of determining the new cycle routes in the borough, the New Malden Pipe Track might not be the best route for one.  The clue is in the site's designation as a 'Site of Nature Conservation Importance' (or SNCI). Its use as a conduit for the Ring Main, the means by which our water gets distributed, results in wetland habitats arising from the various leaks along the route. Over a period of time reed-beds and associated wetland species have developed along this dark and undisturbed area, along with all the animals that would be expected to use a wildlife corridor. This includes the movement of deer, badgers, foxes, hedgehogs, reptiles and amphibians as well as an abundance of dragon and damselflies.     It is misguided to use the words 'enhance, improve, recreate' when it comes to the wildlife interest, without first conducting comprehensive surveys determining the habita...

Creating in-channel ponds   Deflectors     The Hogsmill isn't the only river to have undergone significant channel restoration in the  southwest London Thames  catchment. However the Crane improvements commenced in the late 1990's with the Environment Agency installing deflectors (using the boulders pictured). The enhancement work never stops and TCV volunteers have recently been installing bunds to create slack water, in order to protect small fish. Instead of the hazel faggots staked into the river bed (as employed along the Hogsmill) they were able to source sufficient driftwood from upstream. This is very surprising, as such a large area has been accomplished, which is visually  delightful. Hedge laying along the Crane Rehung tree limb with hole    Everywhere along the Crane corridor is evidence of the hard work of local volunteers from the illustrated hedge laying near  Lincoln's Fields, to the re-hung bat/bird nes...

Chains and heavy duty padlocks have been removed from both sets of gates, but a plastic carrier  bag holds their base aligned to make them look secure. Inside, the wharf is covered with several cubic metres of landfill, from building waste to household rubbish complete with child car seats and paddling pool. This would have been deposited in at least three open backed truck loads and more are probably on their way.                         The last time there was an unofficial landfill site in Kingston, it took a year to close it down due to a protracted dispute over responsibility between the council and the Environment Agency, from which nobody emerged a winner. In the meantime, while discussions continue about who will prevent further waste from being deposited, it may be sensible to install temporary padlocks on both gates. I understand the owners are aware

   London Bat Group along with Biggles the bat attended the annual Seething Wells Festival  Procession see  http://m.surreycomet.co.uk The weather held until 5pm by which time, most of the bats had gone to roost!

  South East Rivers Trust have been knocking out weirs along the Hogsmill to enable fish to pass from the Thames to the source of the Hogsmill at Ewell. The results are impressive and this improvement is at Elmbridge Meadows on the west side of the A3.We went to look in vain for frogspawn in the seasonal pond on the Meadows. Maybe a little too early, although there are records nearer the town centre (Penrhyn Road) from 20.2.15 and at Manor Park 28.2.15. Although with a little egret on regular patrol, the frogs will have to be quick to get to the pond.

 'A good Anthropocene demands that humans use their growing social, economic and technological powers, to make life better for people, stabilise the climate and protect nature.'  The Ecomodernist Manifesto.   Today  at the South Bank Purcell Room, the inspirational Daniel Raven Ellis, asked of a large and positive audience "What if we made Greater London a National Park City"?  This was the 'Welcome to Reimagine London', a day to explore the idea of London becoming the world’s first National Park City. Last year when he came to talk to the Kingston Biodiversity Network, he found himself sharing a platform with Kevin Davis, the Leader of Kingston Council and discovered a fortuitous synergy in goals. Kingston became the first council to sign up to Daniel's vision, which he told us  is now 'our' vision.           Mr Davis was invited as a speaker, at the conference finale, where he shared a platform with distinguished London poli...

   The South East Rivers Trust have been knocking out the weirs along the Hogsmill. Last year they undertook improvements at Knights Park near Kingston Town Centre see previous posts on the  Hogsmill-valley .  At the start of the project there were  fifteen obstructions on the river preventing fish from passing. These included weirs, culverts, concrete bridge footings and the gauging station near Watersplash Close. This results in the available habitat being highly fragmented causing bottlenecks at various life stages, making some fish species very vulnerable.  The concrete bridge footings at the A240 Kingston Bypass formed a complete barrier to fish passage. A rock ramp has now been built to drown out the weir and increase the depth of water under the bridge. To facilitate vehicular access, some of the vegetation has been removed, which will allow light into the dingy floor and breathe new life into the linear  copse, where ivy has s...

    Does this building look familiar? Would it surprise you to know that, not only is it in the borough, but it is in public ownership. This does not mean there is public access, as it is located on a site that is leased to an organisation that has no use for it.  Damaged brick work Missing roof tiles             The building was probably used for apple storage when the surrounding area was an orchard. It is currently in a poor state of repair, with damaged brickwork, missing roof tiles, and boarded-up windows on the northern elevation. Despite its condition, the structure has strong potential as a bat roost. Its location within a treeline and other structural features make it attractive to bats, and evidence of use has already been found in the form of characteristic droppings on one of the windows. With appropriate agreement in place, the building could be weatherproofed and enhanced through the installation of access bricks a...

Surveyors from Kingston Biodiversity Network During the final hedgerow survey at TCF, we  began along this ancient drovers road, which is the only area to exhibit the characteristic double hedgerow. With a track the width of two horse and carts, it would have once run from Malden Manor to Tolworth Manor and through to Cox Lane (see previous posts). The survey method is quite complex and follows the DEFRA guidelines. It requires an assessment of both sides of the hedge, topographical descriptions, width measurements, height of perennial vegetation, species breakdown, management observations, whether or not invasive or introduced species are present and nutrient loading assessments, phew! An 'orse Scalloped edges There is also a section that includes management of land adjacent to the hedge and in this case it is grazed!  The edges are scalloped, which increases the value of the habitat, creating sunny patches. Once a 'node' is reached, this is d...