Save Lea Marshes Newsletter
This is the first Save Lea Marshes (SLM) newsletter of the year. We can only hope that 2021, will be at least a little better than 2020. For the January newsletter I thought that rather than do the usual round-up of what's going on it would be useful to reflect back on 2020, and outline what SLM's priorities are for the time ahead.
THE LEE VALLEY ICE CENTRE
A lot of SLM's time in 2020, was devoted to trying to prevent the proposed twin-pad ice and leisure centre from being built on Metropolitan Open Land. Despite extensive research, lobbying and hours of work, we were unable to convince the Waltham Forest Planning Committee that the ice centre was being built in the wrong place.(/p)
After, the London Mayor's office "waived through" the development following the Waltham Forest Planning Committee, we felt our best option was to try and minimize the amount of damage to the Lee Valley Park area and managed to agree with the Lee Valley Park Authority (LVRPA), that when works were commenced, there would be ecologists on site to supervise clearing and steps would be taken to protect wildlife.
Works began to happen sooner than we thought. Little more than a week after SLM made the request at an LVRPA committee meeting to have ecologists involved and for regular meetings to monitor the work, we were informed that the LVRPA wanted to do some clearing on the site. This, they told us, was partly to try and ensure that any hibernating hedgehogs could be re-homed, partly to carry out some regular maintenance workand partly to clear the space ready for building scheduled for Spring 2021. However, as it turned out it was also very convenient for a booking that the LVRPA had made to have a winter funfair on site.Which was set up ready for the Christmas and New Year Holiday period only to have to be taken down again due to Covid restrictions.
So far in 2021, there has been a fairly positive on-line "site" meeting, with representatives of the LVRPA, SLM and other local wildlife community representatives. Our position remains that the decision to build was a wrong one but faced with what seems the inevitable, we want to try and ensure that the claimed sustainability of the ice centre building plans are adhered to and that there is as little damage to the land as possible. Should this not be the case then we will act accordingly.
WATERWORKS/ LEYTON MARSH AREA
Having been horrified by plans to run a music festival on the land near the Waterworks Centre, SLM and other local activists, swung into action to (a) try to stop the festival taking place due not only to Covid-19 dangers but also damage to the land and disturbance to local wildlife and local people (b) draw attention to the bio-diversity of the land and help enhance its future and (c) to stop the further misuse of this land purely for profit and not for local people or wildlife's interests.
Our campaign included raising the issue through social and other media; contributing to a team of people who wished to speak at the Licensing Committee meeting; organizing a crowd-funding platform to raise funding for independent ecologists to monitor the area for wildlife and plants (this included working collaboratively with the LVRPA's ecologist to add to their work).
This time we were successful in defeating the festival proposal at the Licencing Committee. SLM has no desire to take all the credit - this was also due to many people who supported the campaign and contributed to our crowd-funder. Indeed, we would judge it more as a success for the mobilization of the public and other interest groups.
One thing during the lock-down summer that we observed, was that many more people were coming to the area, partly attracted by the river and "Hackney Beach". We felt that this was partly due to the coverage of the prospect of the festival written about by the Evening Standard, Time Out and other media, attracting people from outside the area to walk, run, cycle, picnic and party.
The dilemma between wanting more people to enjoy the local area and to protect the land, continued through further lock-downs. Currently, one of the pressures is maintaining the grass during the wet weather. Many people don't seem to appreciate the damage they are doing by walking, and cycling over the grass areas at this time and not sticking to the paths. It also has to be said that the tyres marks of maintenance vehicles across and by the edges of paths, particularly on Hackney Marshes, is also a problem.
This newsletter reaches people who already care about the Lea Valley area and its future, a task ahead is to try and get across in a friendly way to make others more aware as they get much needed relief from lockdown life. As more people are familiar with the term "mindfulness", perhaps we can encourage the concept of "mindful walking", that doesn't involve taking short-cuts off paths, when the surfaces are wet or not disposing or taking home their litter. I live in hope...
Allied to the green spaces in this area is the future of the Waterwork's Centre. SLM has been in on-line discussions with LVRPA staff responsible for this facility in a bid to suggest a viable future for this building - which was originally supposed to be a centre for serving and stimulating interest in local wildlife.
SLM presented some proposals and we also set up a dialogue with a local brewery who were interested in improving the food and drink offer at the centre. The initial meetings were encouraging but more recent communications, less so.
SLM does not want to see the building or its surrounding site sold off, rented out for a use that does not serve local needs or protect wildlife. We believe that the use of the building should be for promoting and sustaining wild life interests and activities as well as being a social point for people living nearby. The Lee Valley Park Authority has recently spent a lot of money on a re-building wildlife centre in the north of the district, which is good news. However, we would argue that the south of the area is less well served and should be better supported, particularly due to the larger numbers of people who use the park in this area. We have already seen the local forum meetings and LVRPA committee meetings, which used to be held in the south, fall by the wayside. We do not want to see the Waterworks Centre and surrounding green space being used purely as a "Cash Cow", with inappropriate large, fenced off events taking place there. Watch this space for 2021.
LONDON WATERPARK
Our "sister" organisation East London Waterpark established just over a year ago, is going from strength to strength. Members have been meeting fortnightly on-line and has just become a company limited by guarantee, with the longer term aim of becoming a charity.
Other notable achievements include the setting up and development of the elwp.org website; drawing up architectural and other site plans, contributing to a comprehensive economic and social briefing ready to present to Waltham Forest Council; and (fingers crossed), ELWP will shortly be up on the Spacehive platform for a crowdfunding initiative.
ELWP has been gathering expertise and support along the way. This has included student participation through East London College, University of Westminster Architectural school and others. Although a number of SLM members are involved, we have always sought from the outset that this should be a separate operation involving the wider community and one of the project's aims is to be part of the local employment and social economy as well as being an important environment and leisure facility.
ELWP sees the establishment of safe, wild swimming and other associated environment projects opening up the site into the wider Lea Valley. The site's current occupiers Thames Water and other associated companies have "industrialized" much of the site and it has been shut off from local people. The project aims to work with some of the existing infrastructure (particularly keeping the heritage buildings), and gradually allowing nature to take over.
It is an ambitious project, but ELWP feels that it is a terrific fit for an area between two nature reserves and will help to meet the demand that local people have been demonstrating over the last few summers, of a safe, wild, place to swim in - unlike the current state of the River Lea. The park will need the support of local people and we will keep you informed of progress, through the SLM media outlets and the developing ELWP ones. Watch this space!
FUTURE PLANS..
Some members of the SLM group have been working on mapping traditionally established pathways, "twitterns" and rights of way and getting the London Borough of Waltham Forest to officially protect them. SLM has recently begun to start looking at the Lea Valley area with a view to trying to open up some of the route ways which have been closed off, where it would help with the flow of people, whilst still seeking to keep the land protected. We feel it is all about balance. Yes, there is significant growing demand that can be seen by the numbers of people now using the park but there is also a need to have protected areas that people do not visit on a regular basis to protect wildlife and habitats, particularly as the surrounding areas are being so heavily developed. This is an area of work that should feature a lot in 2021.
OTHER LOCAL CAMPAIGNS
SLM takes very seriously, supporting other campaigns with a connection, relevance or impact on the marshes and other open spaces. One such campaign is the Save Our Square campaign in Walthamstow. Last Wednesday night, the Waltham Forest Planning Committee voted through the revised proposals for the town centre which were agreed about three years ago.
As I sat in on the on-line meeting, I had a strange feeling of "de ja vu". Several local representatives made some hard-felt, well-researched, strong arguments on why the scheme (which includes two extremely tall tower blocks and an extension of the indoor shopping centre), should not go ahead. There was one speaker against. Despite the strong opposition, the Councillors voted 4 to 1 (the one being the Conservative member Alan Siggars, who also did not vote for the first version), to approve the scheme. Whilst Councillors did ask some pertinent questions and show some concern about the need for good quality lower cost housing, this scheme doesn't really address the problems of the majority of people on the housing list and is yet another example of helping developers get what they want.
There has to be a better way of ensuring that people can afford to live in their local areas, without going down the privatized tower block option. Investing in council-funded schemes, with integrated training systems and seriously assessing the numbers of vacant properties that could be rehabilitated. Are just two suggestions. Post Covid 19, we are likely to have less retail and office space needed. Personally, I think there is much more scope to go down the route of live/work units that keep both housing and economics in the town centres. The Save Our Square campaigners have not given up.
