Threat to skylarks

This page is part of the campaign to Save the Epping Forest Act.

The Wren Conservation and Wildlife Group’s committee, and members thereof, referred to as the Wren Group, is concerned that proposals for a police muster station on the fairground site, adjacent to the Wanstead Flats SSSI, have not taken into consideration the sensitivity of the area, in particular with reference to Skylarks breeding in the neighbouring SSSI. We find this particularly surprising given the amount of information provided to the City of London Corporation on breeding Skylarks (a Red Data list species) over the last two breeding seasons. One of the criteria that the Regulatory Reform Committees of both Houses of Parliament need to consider in making a Legislative Reform Order to vary the Epping Forest Act is that the proposals:

“... have been the subject of, and take appropriate account of, adequate consultation”

We feel that this criterion has not been fulfilled because the consultation document claims

Ecology, archaeology and traffic reports have been carried out to make certain that there is no risk to, or impact on, surrounding wildlife/habitats.

The document also says that:

Habitats of nature conservation value are outside the perimeter of the centre and will remain untouched.

The Wren Group disagrees with both statements for the following reasons:

The ecological survey work commissioned for the site was of far too limited a nature, comprising a desk survey (which produced some very dated information) and a walk-over survey held in November. Quite apart from the fact that the November walkover produced glaring inaccuracies (there is a mention of Rooks foraging on the site, for example; and this species is never seen in the locality), November is not the time of year when the site will be used, and its value for wildlife - and particularly for the Skylarks - is very different (during this season. When questioned about this at a public meeting in Forest Gate a spokesman for the City of London said that more comprehensive survey work had been carried out prior to the pipe-laying operations on Wanstead Flats. However, this work was done some years ago and is now outdated.

The facts, as they relate to the Skylarks, are as follows.

• The breeding population on Wanstead Flats is the most significant one still remaining close to Inner London. However, it is an isolated population, with the nearest other breeding population (most likely in the Five Oaks Lane area, near Hainault.
• As we know from the demise of breeding Skylarks in Wanstead Park, once a population disappears (and this is particularly true against a background of a major national decline), it may not be possible to get it back again.
• The SSSI breeding population comprises only two or three pairs, and as such is secondary in importance to the population east of Centre Road. However, if the SSSI population disappears it will make the population east of Centre Road all the more vulnerable. Although Skylarks do not nest on the land that is proposed for use by the police, the birds use this land for feeding throughout the year. This feeding habitat is particularly important during the breeding season, the very months when the muster station will be operational. Effectively, the major part of their feeding area will be removed for three months at the height of the breeding season when they need additional food for their young.
• Also, the disturbance that the muster station will inevitably create will add further pressure to an already pressured population. We know that the Skylarks have been able to deal with a multitude of forms of disturbance, but the erection of a tall fence, the inevitable continuous noise from the site, and night-time light pollution could be the final straw. If the breeding population disappears from the area west of Centre Road it will only further isolate the population on the other side of the road, making the survival of the Wanstead Flats population more precarious.

Additionally, the muster station site is an important feeding zone for another species in national decline, Meadow Pipit. Although not a Red Data species, this is one of the closest breeding populations to Central London and could be seriously damaged if the proposals go ahead.

This document was translated from L^AT_EX by H^EV^EA.