Save Lea Marshes Newsletter July 2020

This is the July Newsletter of Save Lea Marshes.  It is a brief one, I'm afraid, as I have to deal with an unexpected family issue.  Do keep an eye on our website  https://www.saveleamarshes.org.uk.

"ICE CENTRE" UPDATE

SLM understands that the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority's application for what they call an   Ice Centre  but is in reality a multi-purpose Leisure Centre will be going to the September meeting of the Waltham Forest Planning Committee.  Since the original application was made in March, there have been some additional documents and photos added and the LVRPA has been redoubling its efforts to get its case out to the community with consultative meetings and calling for support on Twitter.  SLM is therefore redoubling its own efforts to prevent the building from being built on Metropolitan Open Land at Leyton Marsh, by promoting its objections in a "Tweet of the Week", which will be augmented by fuller submissions on our website.

SLM's position has always been that, while we don't particularly like ice centre facilities for environmental reasons, we are not against a new ice rink per se .  We are against it being put on Metropolitan Open Land, at a time when green space is even more necessary.  Having Googled whether there is any other permanent ice centre in the world which is on similar green space, I have failed to find an example.  All other similar centres are either on industrial estates or in city centres.  The current Ice Centre is a completely different kettle of fish from what is being planned on our marsh land.  The plan is for a huge industrial building, albeit with a more eco-friendly design, together with supposed environmental enhancements such as reed beds to process the ice water run-off into the Oxbow channel.  What does this ice water contain, we ask?

RE-WILDING THE WATERWORKS

Those of you who follow us on Twitter will know that we have launched a Crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to carry out wildlife surveys on the Leyton Marsh area surrounding the Waterworks Centre.  This was in response to the plan the LVRPA had to host the first of a three-year run of Dance Music Festivals on the site.

SLM had a productive meeting with staff members of the LVRPA earlier this month, to discuss the re-wilding of the area and to put forward ideas that could make the Waterworks Centre more of a welcoming environmental destination.  A sticking point seemed to be that the LVRPA would still like to see large events taking place on the site adjacent to the Nature Reserve, whereas we want to see ideas that would enhance the area and its wildlife as well as being of use to local people.  We have submitted income-generating ideas, which the LVRPA have said they will look at, and they have agreed to co-operate with the survey process that we have initiated in conjunction with their own work. We warmly welcome this progress.

There has been some misleading press in the Waltham Forest Guardian , which SLM is in the process of addressing, which suggested that there is duplication in what we are proposing with wildlife surveys already carried out by the LVRPA. The journalist failed to contact us to check, relying only on what the LVRPA had stated. This appears to have damaged our funding campaign, but we are pressing ahead and have achieved a favourable result so far.  We still need to reach our target - so if you think you can help contribute please go to https://gofundme.com/f/ecological-surveys-of-the-waterworks?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1 .

WATER ISSUES

If there was a theme for this month's newsletter it would be water and the great work water campaigners such as London Waterkeeper, Thames 21 and chalk-stream expert Ferghal Sharkey have been mounting on Twitter about Thames Water and its waste-water discharges into our rivers including the one through the Olympic Site.  This has been at the same time as more people are seeking to swim wild.  However, water does have to be safe to swim in and swimming should not have a detrimental effect on wildlife that depends on river habitat - hence our campaign for the East London Waterworks Park.  See https://www.elwp.org.uk .