Chris Gannaway was Redbridge’s representative for the London Wildlife Trust for over 25 years. With concerns over habitat connectivity, he is now petitioning Redbridge Council to declare a nature emergency
Wildlife is in decline! One of the outcomes from the Environment Act 2021 was that geographic regions had to produce Local Nature Recovery Strategies. For Redbridge, that’s the Greater London Authority, and all developments given planning permission from February have to deliver a 20% biodiversity net gain. So, in an ideal world, our wildlife will be quids in! However, not all is as it seems.
For Wanstead’s Evergreen Field, for example, the ecological assessment was carried out in wintertime 2022, with the focus on statutory protected species relying on a desktop study and a few site visits. So, there was no chance of getting to grips with the non-statutory species, such as invertebrates, that could be resident in the small site. As a sop to nature and biodiversity net gain, every possible habitat appears to be included, as well as retaining most of the major trees, but still doesn’t give the full 20% gain. But what about connectivity you say, for flora and fauna to commute into the site?
What do we see from the Local Nature Recovery Strategies mapping for future connectivity? George Green shows connectivity to Wanstead Golf course via private gardens, good. But on the High Street, nothing! There should be a connectivity path from George Green to Epping Forest land in Waltham Forest via the grounds of Snaresbrook Crown Court. The map would then show Hainault Forest, Claybury Park, Roding Valley and Fairlop Plain are well connected to Epping Forest. That’s what I call future connectivity!
As can be seen, we really can’t rely on the powers that be to get it right when nature is in need. I won’t go into all the alarming statistics of decline; they are all verifiable online, such as Chaffinch territories in Wanstead Park, which fell from nine in 2015 to just one by 2023. And Mistle Thrushes went from three territories to zero in the same period. We really need a partnership approach between community, local experts and councils as enablers to get real nature recovery. That is why Wanstead Climate Action are petitioning Redbridge Council to declare a nature emergency. This petition is open to anyone who lives, works or studies in Redbridge. We need 1,500 signatures to put before the council for a debate to take place. The council calendar is such that we must submit the petition before Christmas, ready for January’s council meeting. A debate could then take place in March.
Without measures from the council, our green and natural spaces are currently open to threats from developers. It’s time for our council to declare a nature emergency to ensure the proper protections are put in place to protect our wildlife and ensure people have access to nature in their communities.
For more information and to view the petition, visit wnstd.com/natpet
