Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Urgent action needed! Act now to save St Ann's Hospital Trees!
The Friends of St Ann's Green Spaces were shocked to discover that Catalyst's current planning application will result in loss of 50% of the existing trees on the site.
They have asked me to bring to the attention of Harringay Online users this alarming loss of trees from the St Ann's site that has emerged from the publication of the The Arboricultural Impact Assessment Survey as part of the current consultation.
They have also asked that concerned people respond to the consultation by 22nd September 2022 and reject these plans.
The Arboricultural Impact Assessment Survey (available in full here) lists a far higher than expected rate of tree loss in the course of the build.
Out of a total of 226 individual trees, 32 groups of trees and 7 hedges “within influencing distance of the application site”, the survey confirms removal of 71 trees, 15 tree groups and 96.5m of hedgerow.
In addition “the anticipated effects would include the removal of a further 0.4143ha of canopy cover equating to 43 individual trees and 15 groups or parts of groups as well as 164m of hedgerow.”
Both Friends of the Earth and the Haringey Parks Forum have registered their alarm at the loss of trees and canopy cover at a time when it is clear that we need as much green space as possible in London to combat climate change. The site is known for its rare and special trees, some of which grow nowhere else in London, and its SINC (site of importance for nature conservation) that runs along the back of the site along the railway line and also forms an important link with Railway Fields as a wildlife corridor and habitat.
Noted tree expert and ecologist, Russell Miller, made the following comments after seeing the Arboricultural Impact Assessment Survey:
- the scale of tree and canopy loss is extraordinarily high
- given the climate emergency and record London temperatures in 2022 loss of canopy of this magnitude should lead to an automatic rejection of the design. People in London are dying from excessive heat and air pollution. A project that predicts an overall loss of canopy even after new planting should be unacceptable. All planning guidance in London is for increasing canopy cover.
- the failure to correctly identify and quantify the loss of SINC woodland is a major flaw in the AIA. The SINC woodland abuts a key railway wildlife corridor and its value is therefore even greater than the canopy cover and group of trees alone. The final AIA Appendix plan refers to SINC gain and SINC retention but not SINC loss.
- the trees at St. Ann's are much more diverse and unusual than typical urban planting. Whilst the AIA acknowledges this it nevertheless proposes tree losses on a huge scale.
- The planned green roofs are a major element of post development habitat. The roofs are said to be largely 'intensive' but terminology in this area is new and undefined leaving too much scope for poor delivery. Greater clarity is required as to minimum substrate depth, substrate type, maintenance provisions and biodiversity value of these roofs. This is essential if anything of wildlife value is to be gained from these buildings."
For more information and to discover in detail what you can say to object to the proposed ecocide at St Ann's Hospital, please follow StAGS on Twitter and Facebook
Actions:
- Sign the petition. Link here
- For more information, please contact Friends of StAGS directly at friendsofstags@gmail.com
- or via their social media
- Please respond urgently to the consultation by 22nd September to register your concerns about tree and hedgerow loss on the site. Your voice will make a difference as the more people object they harder it will be for the council to wave this through
- Please share in your local networks
- Write to councillors sharing your objections
Tags for Forum Posts: catalyst, nature notes, st anns hospital, trees
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Roger on
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... he was in the US recently with Michael Gove... attending the Bilderberg Group meeting...
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Permalink Reply by Brian Mahoney on
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Was he there for comedic value?
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Would it be worth drafting a letter and individuals can use the copy and sign it?
Then email it to him?
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I posted this higher up the thread, the main arguments are are laid out. They can be cut and pasted with a top and tail from the individual. I recall once reading (or maybe I was told) that MPs tend to ignore cut and paste campaigns so it's always best to make your letters all slightly different (while keeping to the main points). I wrote to David Lammy about hedgehogs (of course!) and included local information as well as the national points. He wrote me a very nice reply (or at least someone in his office did). He is very sympathetic to green causes (he does "get it") so it is worth writing to him
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Yeah I know MP's ignore cut and paste campaigns. I believe that.
It's just that I know many in this borough won't be able to engage with the document you sent.
My mum for example - she lives five minutes from St Anns Hospital. Due to language barrier and lack of confidence she couldn't do anything with that document.
Same for many of her friends/our family in the area.
The best i get is to add names to rolling petitions online.
Are you allowed to ask the two schools to engage? Posters by kids in the area around? Would that mean anything? Would that get the london news brigade a neat 3minute package?
OK sure you have considered all this, I will write David Lammy a letter now....
Take care, good luck
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Some of the responses online to the consultation have literally been "I object to the trees being cut down at St Ann's. Please reject this plan" or words to that effect. Others have been short personal responses along the lines you've made in your posts. The sheer number of objections now will alert the council to the strength of feeling. If they come from a wide range of community members so much the better - it's not necessary to write a long response. I would argue that short personal responses will probably be more effective. Raising voices is enough, words from the heart matter most.
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I do wonder about the impact this will have on Chestnuts school in the medium term. Nearly 1000 extra "dwellings" will over time equate to several hundred extra children especially if you consider that most of the people seeking to buy housing are likely to be young couples. What sort of pressure will that put on Chestnuts? Will class sizes swell? There will be similar issues for the already underperforming NHS surgeries in the area.
Doing something on this scale requires joined up strategic thinking to ensure that public services can meet the additional demand otherwise we will all suffer.
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I know a lot of people are busy.
I also know many (like member of my own family) struggle to engage via letters/emails.
But if easily presented and passed around - explaining, some might sign and email individually?
If there is a patient group at St Anns - or family of patients group they may also engage?
I know patients that spent time there in the previous years. The trees in a small way made the experience a touch easier.
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I believe there are responses from hospital groups (there's a Greener St Ann's Hospital group for example) and StAGS are trying to inform patients and hospital users. The more networks this reaches the better which is why one of the suggested actions to spread this info across non Harringay Online groups through social media and WhatsApp groups.
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