1:00pm Friday 13th November 2009
By Suraya Saleh
Residents and councillors have been angered by the felling of an acre of trees on a Surrey Council-owned enclave within the Ham Lands nature reserve.
The county council cleared a large section of land on its Thames Young Mariners base without consulting Richmond Council, which manages the surrounding area.
A Surrey spokeswoman said the felling was to tackle a common ivy infestation that had led to a decline in the health of trees and posed a risk to users of the site, but admitted the council should have consulted Richmond before taking action.
She said: “This was a regrettable omission on our part, due largely to an underestimation of the impact on users of the surrounding landscape..
“We have apologised to the borough council for this oversight.”
But Ham Councillor Brian Miller said Surrey’s actions were “inexcusable” and showed a “slash and burn approach to conservation”.
He pointed to Richmond Council's gradual removal of the noxious Japanese knotweed from trees in Ham Lands as a more sensitive approach to conservation.
He said: “We’re outraged living here that somebody else, somewhere else has not shown the same respect to the land as those who live here.
“You could have removed the ivy from the trees without felling them. Felling should be a last resort, not a first.”
Vicky Phillips, of Richmond and Twickenham Friends of the Earth, likened the felling to that of rainforests and said she had been contacted by many residents who were similarly horrified.
She said: “I was really stunned when I saw the clearing.
“They [Surrey] don’t appear to have thought about the impact on the area or that it would upset residents.”
She added she hoped the county council would now replant the area and turn it into a bird watching reserve or nature trail for children, but said there were rumours it would be converted into a BMX track.
The Surrey spokeswoman did not rule out the rumours, but stressed the site was not cleared to make way for future development.
She added: “We do not have any definite plans at present for the cleared area, which was identified as needing to be cleared due to the health and safety issues relating to the trees and security of the centre.”
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