Environment Forum to host 19th March meeting for open space sell-off opponents

Posted on 14/03/2015 by Chris Rose

On behalf of Bexley Natural Environment Forum (the umbrella group for Friends of parks and open spaces and wildlife campaigners in the Borough), we are inviting campaigners to a meeting at Bexley (Village) Library next Thursday 19th at 3pm to discuss how we can work together to save Bexley’s green spaces now and into the future.

Following Bexley Council’s recent disclosure of the 27 green sites listed for possible ‘disposal’ in its recent budget ‘savings’ consultation, a number of petitions have sprung up either asking the Council to save all the green spaces or petitioning for them to keep specific green sites  such as Old Farm Park. It is really encouraging that people have taken the initiative to act, but there is a danger is that we spread ourselves too thinly and end up with several petitions, none of which have enough signatures for the Council to take them seriously.  It would also be prudent to minimise the scope for the Council to adopt a ‘divide and rule’ strategy by keeping some sites at the expense of others.

We are also still at the stage where there is a debate to be had with the Council about the principle of sell-offs versus less maintenance, and there is no guarantee at this stage that if ‘sell-offs’ wins, there won’t be more sites added to the sales list in future, hence the need to work together to minimise future threats as well as current ones.

Campaigners at Old Farm Park and Old Manor Way Playground have said that they will be attending.

– Mandy Stevens BNEF/Friends of the Shuttle

Posted in Barnehurst, Bexley Council, BNEF, Budget, Friends of the Shuttle, Land sales, Open spaces, Parks, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Shuttle corridor is Mistletoe magnet and Small Tortoiseshell sanctuary

Posted on 13/03/2015 by Chris Rose

On my way to the Bexley Park Woods event meeting point yesterday (March 12th) there was a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on the Shuttle riverbank just to the west of the tree line. Afterwards another was seen by the river at Riverdale Road, and 2 more just upstream of Penhill Road. This fits with nationwide intel that suggests the species may be making a modest recovery in the south after its major population crash. It also emphasises the importance of retaining the beds of nettles, on which the caterpillars feed, in these locations.

I was actually on the lookout for any more Mistletoe to add to the three plants on Poplar at the west edge of Bexley Park Woods that I only noticed some weeks ago. And lo and behold , there were four more in Hollyoak Wood Park – two on a Poplar by gardens near the west entrance, and one on each of two adjacent Poplar trees by gardens on the northern margin of this open space (of which one was a female with some berries still present).

Poplars hosting two of the four Mistletoe plants at Hollyoak Wood park (Photo: Chris Rose)

Poplars hosting two of the four Mistletoe plants at Hollyoak Wood Park (Photo: Chris Rose)

Mistletoe is an obligate hemiparasite. This means it can manufacture some of its own food, but cannot survive independently of a host tree. It is infrequent in London and therefore the subject of a Species Action Plan. The Poplars it is found on in Bexley (including by Maiden Lane and at Thames Road Wetland in Barnes Cray) are ‘normal’-looking trees, and it does not occur on the columnar type of Poplars found elsewhere along the Shuttle.

A couple of Grey Wagtails were seen on the Shuttle at the west end of Marlborough Park. Interestingly I spotted 10 Redwing on the grass amongst the trees between Burnt Oak Lane and Sidcup Golf Course. This species is a winter visitor to the UK from Scandinavia but there have been very few this year due to the mild conditions.

The newish pond at Parish Wood park had large amounts of frogspawn in it, and paired Frogs. Much soft croaking could be heard from amongst the Reedmace bed.

The pond at Parish Wood Park - an example of a good piece of work for wildlife by Bexley Council and others. (Photo: Chris Rose).

The pond at Parish Wood Park – an example of a good piece of work for wildlife by Bexley Council and others. (Photo: Chris Rose).

On the way home Arum italicum subsp. italicum‘Marmoratum’, a non-native relative of our Lords and Ladies/Cuckoo Pint was spotted part hidden amongst trees by the Shuttle opposite Love Lane allotments.  It seems likely it got there as a seed.

Alien Aroid - a clump of Arum italicum subsp. italicum 'Marmoratum' has established itself by the Shuttle. (Photo: Chris Rose)

Alien Aroid – a clump of Arum italicum subsp. italicum ‘Marmoratum’ has established itself by the Shuttle. (Photo: Chris Rose)

Chris Rose.

Posted in Bexley Woods, Butterflies, Mistletoe, Open spaces, Parks, Plants in Bexley, Recording, River Shuttle, Trees | Leave a comment

Joydens Wood. Woodlands Trust call for photos of unofficial tree felling

Posted on 13/03/2015 by jonathanrooks1@outlook.com

Following notification to us about tree felling to deliberately block paths in Joydens Wood, site managers the Woodlands Trust have asked our readers for photos or map locations so they can investigate further.

Joydens Wood. ph Woodlands Trust

Joydens Wood. ph Woodlands Trust

 

A local resident informed us.

“Joydens Wood is a shared woodlands and I have noticed lately that person(s) have been damaging trees to block bike trails which is dangerous to both bikers and destroying the wildlife. Anyone had any experience of this lately?”

 

We contacted the Woodlands Trust and have had this request from site manager, Jean Frame, JeanFrame@woodlandtrust.org.uk for more information.

Thanks for your email. I’m the Site Manager that looks after Joydens. I’m unaware of this activity – I’ve attached a map of Joydens. Could you mark it on the map and scan/send it back to me where this is happening please?

 I’ll also contact my volunteer group and contractors to see if they know anything of this.

 Please don’t hesitate to get in contact on the below numbers.

 Jean 0845 293 5749/ 07824 498 293

Download the PDF file .

Photos can also be sent to Jean, we would be interested in seeing them too. jonathanrooks@virginmedia.com or post them to our Facebook page: facebook.com/BexleyWildlife

Posted in Joydens Wood | Leave a comment

Cray Riverkeepers to launch boat blitz on lower Cray wash-out litter problem

Posted on 13/03/2015 by Chris Rose

As previously reported on BW, the lower Cray beyond Maiden Lane bridge is suffering from the large amounts of litter that gets washed into it as a result of the bankside undergrowth in which it was trapped dying back during the winter, coupled with heightened water levels due to the increased rainfall at this time of year.

Cray Project Officer Michael Heath has scheduled an extra event on Friday 20th March to tackle the problem. Volunteers will launch the team’s boat, named the ‘Lady Cray’, to remove the floating rubbish towards Thames Road. There is also a lot of litter along the bank that needs clearing. If you can help meet at Thames21 Depot, (100m along Byway 106 walking from Barnes Cray Road towards Crayford) DA1 4NR at 10.30. Finish time will be around 14.30.

Michael said ‘If we don’t get this rubbish out of the river it will end up in the Darent, the Thames and then the North Sea and beyond. We’ve all seen the publicity about the huge issue of plastics and other litter in our oceans, and about how it gets broken down into tiny fragments and eaten by other organisms. Part of the next plastic bottle you see floating down our river may wind up in your fish and chips a few years hence! Much of this material is recyclable, and of course the best way of avoiding the problem is for people to be responsible about what they do with their waste in the first place.’

Michael Heath is looking for volunteers to help clear rubbish from the lower Cray on March 20th.

Michael Heath is looking for volunteers to help clear rubbish from the lower Cray on March 20th.

Ffi: Michael Heath, River Cray Project Officer, Thames21  Bringing Londons Waterways to Life. Mobile 07968805751. E mail michael.heath@thames21.org.uk

Posted in Cray Riverkeepers, Environment, Fish, Litter, River Cray, River Thames, Rivers, Thames21, Volunteering | Leave a comment

Twenty enjoy Bexley Park Woods wildlife walk in spring sunshine

Posted on 13/03/2015 by Chris Rose

Eighteen people joined leaders Chris Rose from Bexley Natural Environment Forum and Ralph Todd of Bexley RSPB on yesterday’s (March 12th) wildlife walk around Bexley Park Woods, hosted by Friends of the Shuttle, the river that runs through the northern edge of the woodland.

Chris Rose giving an introduction to the site. (Photo: Martin Petchey)

Chris Rose giving an introduction to the site. (Photo: Martin Petchey)

Introductory comments from Mandy Stevens of FotS, Chris and Ralph highlighted the importance of open spaces across Bexley and the efforts now being put into increasing public interest in them by local groups, before touching on the particular value of this woodland, its Site of Importance for Nature Conservation status, management issues and where more information about the resident wildlife could be obtained.

The first plants pointed out were the three Mistletoe growing on a Poplar by the river that Chris had first noticed a couple of months ago. This is an uncommon species in London, and the subject of a Species Action Plan. Most people probably think of this as occurring on old orchard trees, but Poplar is one of its main hosts.

Mistletoe on Polar by the river Shuttle, near tghe Murchison/Elmwood entrance. (Photo: Martin Petchey)

Mistletoe on Poplar by the River Shuttle, near the Murchison/Elmwood entrance. (Photo: Martin Petchey)

Participants were enlightened as to the identity of a number of the other plant species in evidence, including natives such as the Stinking Iris or Gladwyn, which is grown as an ornamental and may actually have ‘escaped’ from nearby gardens.  The edibility of Cow Parsley, one of the more abundant plants already in leaf, was mentioned, but attendees were advised not to eat it unless they were sure they could tell it apart from similar-looking but poisonous Hemlock …. There was little in flower yet apart from the striking yellow blooms of Lesser Celandine, a buttercup which will go dormant as the trees come into leaf and shade them out, but the leaves of Wood Anemone were just starting to show in places.

Lesser celandine by the danson outflow. (Photo: Mart in Petchey)

Lesser celandine by the Danson outflow. (Photo: Martin Petchey)

The patch of Sanicle, a rare plant in Bexley, was looked at by the Danson Park outflow, and this highlighted the deleterious effects of excessive trampling. Looking across the river to the south side the general issue of the lack of ground-cover in many parts of the wood was very evident. In the absence of coppicing for probably over half a century there probably isn’t enough light hitting the ground in many areas to fuel plants sufficiently to overcome the amount of footfall, and a number of species have disappeared from the wood completely.

The first bird observed was a Grey Wagtail foraging on pebble banks in the river. This is a species that will suffer from the extent of disturbance by off-leash dogs. Questions were raised about the amount of yellow and how it differed from Yellow Wagtail, which is now a scarce summer migrant. Ralph went on to explain the breeding strategy of the humble Wren, in which the male builds several nests for the female to choose from, but if they are not good enough she may still take up with somebody else.

No FotS meeting would be complete without a bit of X-rated content, and the sight of a pair of canoodling Ring-necked Parakeets seemed to send some observers a bit weak at the knees and may have softened the hearts of any who thought these birds a bit of a nuisance.

Ring-necked Parakeet pair. (Photo: Tim Briggs)

Ring-necked Parakeet pair. (Photo: Tim Briggs)

Fleeting glimpses were had of Great Spotted Woodpecker, and Green was heard briefly. Nuthatch kept out of sight, though Chris had seen two before the meeting began. A couple of Long-tailed Tits were observed by an adjoining garden. Plenty of Robins, Blue Tits and Great Tits were seen, and Duncan Devine pointed out some of the nestboxes he had made and put up in the wood.

Robin in Bexley Park Woods. (Photo: Tim Briggs)

Robin in Bexley Park Woods. (Photo: Tim Briggs)

Ralph explained that we are still in the period where winter visitors are leaving, but birds that come here to breed in summer have not arrived en masse, which would account for the limited number of species spotted.

Honeybees using tree cavity as a natural nest site. (Photo: Tim Briggs)

Honeybees using tree cavity as a natural nest site. (Photo: Tim Briggs)

There seems to be a fair amount of interest in these woods, and we will see if we can organise more events here in the future to build on that. A ‘Friends’ group could do much to improve the habitat in the woods for wildlife, and it would be good if one could be set up, though we had no immediate volunteers step forward on this occasion.

Posted in Bexley Woods, BNEF, coppicing, Friends of the Shuttle, Open spaces, Ring-necked Parakeet, River Shuttle, RSPB, Volunteering | 1 Comment

Barnehurst Conservatives won’t campaign to save park but will “push the case for a replacement”.

Posted on 12/03/2015 by jonathanrooks1@outlook.com

Local residents are receiving a letter from their local Conservative Councillors. As with their local Conservative MP, no commitment to campaign to save the park, but some ‘pushing for a replacement’.

This response from a local resident says it all really.

“Just got this through the door. It is almost identical to the email we received from the councillors. However the last line is different and it tells me that they do not in any way want to help us keep the playground at this site. They say they will give us a replacement site but this is not what we want. Please, even if you have signed the paper petition, sign the online petition and keep writing complaints directly to Bexley Council.

We have clearly got their attention by what we have been doing so far but we need to now focus on complaining to the Council because we do not have the MP’s or councillors’ support.“

Conservative Councillors letter Old Manor Way

 To tell your Councillors what you think (and why not tell them that your support for them in the next election is conditional on this).

Their contact details:

councillor.david.hurt@bexley.gov.uk

councillor.howard.marriner@bexley.gov.uk

councillor.eileen.pallen@bexley.gov.uk

Cllr Howard Marriner Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr Howard Marriner Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr Eileen Pallen Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr Eileen Pallen Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr David Hurt Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr David Hurt Conservative, Barnehurst

 

Posted in Barnehurst, Open spaces, Parks, Planning | Leave a comment

‘Consultation’ on Manor Way sell-off.

Posted on 12/03/2015 by jonathanrooks1@outlook.com

Just posted on the Save Old Manor Way Playground Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/saveoldmanorwayplayground

Old Manor Way playground

Old Manor Way playground

****

Some of you may have already seen this, but I will post it just to make sure word is spread to everyone! This is a message sent from Barnehurst Ward Councillors regarding our playground. They say that a consultation meeting will take place in early April at the Civic Offices but have not yet confirmed the exact time and date.

We still need your ongoing support so that when we do attend the consultation we can show the councillors the combined effort of the community to save the playground. Keep signing petitions, online and on paper and continue to write complaints and spread the word.

What the Councillors say

“
The Council provides 106 parks and open spaces throughout the London Borough of Bexley which in total cover an area of 670ha (1,655 acres) including Old Manor Road Playground which is only one of 27 open spaces and small green highway land that have been identified for possible disposal after consultations with residents have been concluded.

The parks and open spaces are all very different in landscape character and range from playing fields, meadowland, woodlands, open grassland, playgrounds, hedges, tennis courts, wildflower meadows, parkland, heathland, rough grassland, scrubland, waterways, and so on. The different landscapes provide different homes and feeding areas for wildlife. They also provide different habitats for plant life.

The Council has been consulting with residents on an in principle choice between stopping maintenance, which would essentially mean these different landscapes ultimately changing back into woodlands, or selling a small number of open space sites and a small number of green highway sites. The money generated from the disposal of these sites would be used to create an endowment fund which the Council would use to continue the maintenance of a diverse landscapes with different habitats in the remaining sites.

It is important to set the scale of this proposal. The area of the 10 possible open space sites under consultation for disposal represents just 0.37% of the Councils parkland and the 17 small green highway sites represents 1.44% of the green highway land.

It is also useful to understand how this sits in context with the wider financial challenges that all Local Authorities are facing as the coalition Government seek to achieve a balanced national budget. With Central Government reducing Council funding, Bexley has already had to reduce annual spending by £50m over the last four years. Over the next four years Bexley is challenged with achieving savings of around a further £57m

Achieving a reduction in the budget during the current austerity programme, which will remain beyond the life of the current Parliament, has involved a fundamental examination of the level of provision of all statutory and non-statutory services. In common with other local authorities, a number of very difficult decisions have or need to be taken as a consequence of reduced funding.

Where possible, savings have been made through efficiency measures and other methods, but unfortunately Bexley Council also has had to reduce or end some non-statutory services in order to set a legal budget. These are difficult choices, but without looking at alternative options for generating income to sustain the sites in the long term, the Council would not have the money to maintain the remaining parks and open spaces and the facilities within them.

As stated this proposal is at an early stage and no final decision on the disposal of any sites has yet been taken but the Barnehurst Ward Councillors Hurt, Marriner and Pallen have lobbied the Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Leisure extensively since the draft list of sites was published and a public meeting is being organised so that both the Cabinet Member and Ward Councillors can hear at first hand the concerns that local residents have.

Even though the principle of disposal for the 27 sites was agreed by full Council on 4 March 2015, the sites will be subject to detailed technical evaluation and further public consultation before any decision is taken.

It is anticipated that the Public Meeting will be held at the Civic Offices, 2 Watling Street, Bexleyheath on a date in early April 2015 to be announced shortly to ensure that residents have adequate time to prepare to attend that meeting.“

***

Many people are concerned about how much notice Bexley Council takes of its ‘consultations’. Not sure we’ve ever heard of the Council changing its mind after a ‘consultation’.

Sounds to me that the Conservative Councillors are following the party line here rather than supporting local residents.

Their contact details:

councillor.david.hurt@bexley.gov.uk

councillor.howard.marriner@bexley.gov.uk

councillor.eileen.pallen@bexley.gov.uk

Cllr Howard Marriner Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr Howard Marriner Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr Eileen Pallen Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr Eileen Pallen Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr David Hurt Conservative, Barnehurst

Cllr David Hurt Conservative, Barnehurst

 

 

Posted in Barnehurst, Land sales, Open spaces, Parks, Planning | Leave a comment

Online petitions against the parks sell off.

Posted on 12/03/2015 by jonathanrooks1@outlook.com

There are a couple of petitions now available online against the sale of Old Farm Park and Manor Way Playground here:

 http://democracy.bexley.gov.uk/mgepetitionlistdisplay.aspx?bcr=1

 https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-old-farm-park

Posted in Land sales, Open spaces, Parks | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation report ‘in the long grass’ for over a year – is Bexley taking biodiversity seriously?

Posted on 10/03/2015 by Chris Rose

Having recently been subject to considerable criticism over its vegetation management on sensitive wildlife sites, we would normally welcome Bexley Council’s apparent enthusiasm for some long grass, but not when it is (metaphorically) being used as a repository for the Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation review.

Kicked into the proverbial long grass .... Why has Bexley Council still not approved the 2013 SINC review report and recommendations over a year after publication?

Kicked into the proverbial long grass …. Why has Bexley Council still not approved the 2013 SINC review report and recommendations over a year after publication?

That the Council commissioned a 10 year review, published in 2013, is laudable given the budgetary pressures that were by then already looming large, and this makes it all the harder to understand why it is that over a year later it has still not been adopted. The initial reason for the delay was that the Council had to get itself re-organised after the last Borough elections in early 2014, and get bedded into its new premises in the old Woolwich building. But this doesn’t account for the considerable extra time that has now elapsed.

The SINC review is a very important document, for whilst the sites listed do not have statutory protection, they are a material consideration in planning, and any ‘development’ proposed for such a location has to pass tests set out on the Council’s Local Development Framework, making it somewhat harder for the concrete merchants to destroy all or parts of them.  The London Wildlife Trust, which did the official survey work, recommended that some new sites be added to the SINC list, and that others be promoted to a higher grade in the draft report produced back in December 2013. It also warned that some private sites had been degraded from a nature conservation perspective due to poor management, and even that Council-owned Danson Park should have some of its area removed from within the SINC boundary if the local authority kept using it for overflow car parking.

Bexley Natural Environment Forum Vice-chair Chris Rose said ‘We put a lot of effort into doing extra wildlife recording work on existing and potential SINCs and in making our data available to LWT and Bexley. This helped get two more sites listed, two others proposed for enlargement and one for promotion. We also made extensive and detailed comments on the draft recommendations so that site citations would be as accurate as possible. With top SINCs such as Mill Meadows and Erith Quarry currently the subject of ‘development’ applications, and the proposed strip of SINC land at Old Farm now slated for possible sell-off, it is extremely disturbing that Bexley Council has still not approved this document. The Council likes to claim that the ‘three pillars’ of economy, society and environment get equal billing in its planning processes, but yet again the reality is that the environment on which we all ultimately depend is coming a poor last in its thinking. No doubt the government would be quick to step in if Bexley was taking this long to deal with ‘development’ applications.’

The 2013 full, and 2011 partial SINC review documents can be downloaded at the foot of this page on the Council’s website:

http://www.bexley.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=12495

Posted in Bexley Council, BNEF, Budget, Danson Park, Erith Quarry, Land sales, London Wildlife Trust, Open spaces, Planning, SINC | Leave a comment

Bexley allotment sites now registered as ‘assets of community value’

Posted on 10/03/2015 by Chris Rose

Bexley is the first Council area to have all of its allotment sites registered as ‘assets of community value’ under the Localism Act 2011, thanks to Bexley Federation of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (BFALG). This does not prevent them being sold off, but does mean that plotholders would have a right to submit a bid to purchase a site were it to be put up for sale. Whilst the cost would be prohibitive, this move is seen as adding a measure of protection and would buy some time whilst groups were given the chance to organise and try and finance any bid.

Back in 2004 Bexley Council’s then Labour administration sought to sell off half the allotment sites in the Borough, and turf plotholders off the rest whilst they bulldozed them and generally ‘tarted them up’ before re-letting. This lunacy was stopped after a long-running public outcry, well-supported by the local press. We now know that allotment sites are hugely important for wildlife in the Borough such as protected reptiles and amphibians, thanks to dedicated recent survey work, and other fast-declining species such as Hedgehogs.

There is one individual allotment site in Leeds listed as such an asset, but Bexley is believed to now be well out in front with this admirable initiative by BFALG.

The surge in interest in allotments in the early 2000’s may have left people with the impression that there are still massive waiting lists and it isn’t worth applying for a plot. In fact there are around 70 vacant plots in Bexley at present, both full and half-sized, across a number of different sites, so if you’ve been considering getting yourself an allotment please do contact the Council’s allotment department now:

http://www.bexley.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4073 

Site closures are far less likely if sites are pretty fully tenanted most of the time. Do bear in mind though that it’s not the 5 minute job implied by ‘glossy’ TV gardening programmes, and a fair amount of year-round work is required!

Colourful sunflowers brighten an allotment site in Bexley, providing nectar followed later on by seedheads for birds. (Photo: Chris Rose).

Colourful sunflowers brighten an allotment site in Bexley, providing nectar followed later on by seedheads for birds. (Photo: Chris Rose).

Posted in Allotments, assets of community value, Bexley Council, Gardening for wildlife, Land sales | Leave a comment