SAVE LEA MARSHES
WEEKLY DIGEST 20 NOVEMBER 2015
This is the Weekly Digest of Save Lea Marshes – an open
group of people living in the Lea Valley area campaigning to keep the local
marshes and green spaces free of unnecessary development and left in good condition
for nature and for present and future generations.
This week is – budget edition (without Heron). I have been on a workshop today to help
balance my time more effectively and as a consequence haven’t had so much time
to produce the weekly update. Such a
modern dilemma! SLM’s meeting agenda and
on-line communications this week have mainly concerned:
·
Dialogue with Hackney Council on the plans to
remove the car park from East Marsh and “wild the space”. We’ve been working with other local groups on
this, such as Hackney Marsh Users Group and are broadly in agreement over what
we would like to see done, with the exception of whether the current access
gates stay or are replaced by smaller-scale pedestrian access gates. There are pros and cons on this but SLM’s
view is that vehicular access should be discouraged and that the access point
is not ideal in the approach to the road.
·
Horseshoe Island – we discussed the
re-appearance of boats mooring and people not respecting the land there at our
last meeting and propose to write to the Canals and River Trust and get them to
come to a future Lee Valley Regional Park Authority workshop (if the LVRPA
agree to this), to look at a better way forward. This is an issue which has been around the
block a few times, so we’re giving it another go!
·
Pursuing an Freedom of Information inquiry with
Transport for London over transport and parking issues resulting from the
Planning Inspectorate process in June.
TFL is “dragging its feet” in coming up with a response, promising a
letter by 7 December....
·
We are also continuing to draw attention to Tree
46 on Hackney Marshes which is scheduled to be eradicated and replaced by a car
park and the surrounding trees which might have their roots affected so do
follow us on Twitter @treefortysix
BEES ON THEIR KNEES
- I heard on Wednesday’s Radio 4 “Today”
Programme, an explanation on the negative effect of Nicontinoid pesticides on
honey bees – it effects the reproduction of honey bees, with the hive
compensating by creating more worker bees.
This news followed on from an article in the Sunday Times last Sunday
15.11.15,p25.
http://www.sundaytimes.co.uk
“New crop protection is the bees’ knees”
– about factory farmed bumble bees that could be deployed to deliver pesticides
to crops, protecting plants including strawberries, apples and rapeseed from
fungus – basically by having a tray of pesticide powder that the specially
designed hives would have at the entrance for the bees to walk through before
they fly out. I can see big flaws in
this plan – it sounds like another misguided attempt to interfere with nature
and rapeseed fields, which are reported to have bad effects on bees....
IN THE NEWS – this
item just missed last week’s Weekly Digest but is worth mentioning in case
anyone missed it in last Thursday’s “Evening Standard”, 12.11.15, “Let’s build
on green belt..” an article presenting the rise of London house prices and the
rise of commuters coming into London and saying that some of the green belt
could be spared for housing, to reduce
the numbers of commuters
http://www.standard.co.uk/business/let-s-build-on-green-belt-to-squeeze-on-commuters-a3112971.html
Personally, I didn’t buy this argument – commuters would
still have to travel and building on green belt would be more luxury houses at
unaffordable prices.
In the Sunday Times, p.30 15.11.15 “So this is our grand
Olympic Legacy”, by Dominic Laswson – an interesting piece veering from the
recent Olympic drugs scandal to the statement that “to my complete lack of
surprise, the London Olympics did nothing at all to attract children into
athletics”. Worth a read
http://www.sundaytimes.co.uk/comment
This week’s “Hackney Gazette” has a number of
housing/planning related stories.. on page 1 “Council’s new build sell off
fear”, about rare new social housing that might have to be sold off if the Government’s Housing and Planning Bill
is passed; “Skyscraper shadow cast over Shoreditch” – on the protest last
Sunday,p.p.4-5; “Residents locked out of road plan meeting”, residents had to
be addressed in the street as the booked room was too small.. this concerns the
Hackney Council plan to close off 16 roads in London Fields, p.7 and more on
the borough’s school building plans which involve offsetting costs by
incorporating private housing into the plans “New generations ‘short changed’
by school proposals.. p.15
www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news
EVENTS
Dalston Curve Garden – winners of the best local cultural
place in Hackney in 2005 by “Time Out”, have activities celebrating a Festival
of Light. On Saturday 21 and Sunday 28 November there are free (just turn up)
events for children and all to make lanterns out of fruit and veg. (you are
requested to leave the lanterns behind) and on Tuesday 24 November and 1 December, there are paper shadow lanterns to
be made.. Winter opening hours for the
Curve Garden are Daily from 11.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m., Saturday open from 11 a.m.
until 11.00 p.m. and Sunday closing at 10.00 p.m. There are also wood-fired Pizzas on sale at
weekends. Further information from
Sustainable Hackney’s upcoming events include “The Big Fix”
event on Saturday 21 – find out more
at
http://sustainablehackney.org.uk/
and click events, they, SLM (look out for our banner), and Green Peace will all
be at the
Climate Change March on 29
November. Greenpeace are producing a
“march kit” – if you would like one contact
team.uk@greenpeace.org.uk by this
Sunday. Greenpeace will be meeting at
11.30 at the Wellington Arch on the morning of the March.
Next SLM meeting will
be on Monday 30 November at the Princess of Wales pub, Lea Bridge Road, Hackney
from 7.30. All welcome.
And finally .. SLM
received a tweet from @help 4 Hedge.. about being hedgehog aware when digging
compost etc.
