Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
No Wildlife Meadow for Harringay Stretch of New River
For a few years now, I've been wondering if it would be viable for the eastern bank of the 'new cut' of the New River behind Wightman Road to be managed as a wildflower / biodiversity corridor.
I finally got round to asking Thames Water via their pretty responsive customer service team.
I'm sorry to report that the answer was a firm 'no'. The chap who called me explained that the grass must be cut back for the banks of the river to be regularly inspected to check for any problems.
My immediate response was to accept and understand this explanation. But I've since been wonder, is there no way round this?
Tags for Forum Posts: new river
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Simon Bradley on
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:Looks like a rigid and unimaginative response - 'because it's what we always do'. Why must the whole area be mown so close to allow inspection of just the bank of the NR? Why not leave a wild strip along the landward side, at least, mowing it only once a year? And it would cost less, not more.
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Permalink Reply by Arkady on
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Thank-you Hugh, you've done what I've been meaning to do for a while.
It's not a wise answer.
Wildflower meadows still need to be cut 1-2 times per year, usually in July and then again in autumn. This year they cut the grass for the first time... in July. They are already managing it like a wildflower meadow. To achieve a dense meadow the grass needs to be scarified and the soil sown with wildflower seeds - ideally heavy on the yellow rattle and other grass-suppressing ones in the early years.
Also, if they want to keep a margin along the river-bank that is kept as mown grass than that could easily be accommodated - ironically that's the bit that they currently mow the least.
Thames Water have an environmental policy that implies that they should support this sort of project.
I will support this project in any way I can. If we crowd-funded some native wildflower seed we could make short work of it with a few volunteers - especially if we hired a rotivator. Needn't cost Thames Water anything, indeed formally shifting to a wildflower-friendly mowing regime famously costs less than the usual manicured-lawn nonsense that so many public and private landowners adhere to.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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The 'new cut' was made in the 1880s and involved creating a channel by building earth embankments on both sides. So the New River Path alongside the 'new cut' is higher than the land immediately to its sides (There's even a dip between it and the towering railway embankment). So I can see that there may be an engineering reason that underpins the sensitivity.
But, nevertheless, I wonder if the enquiry just didn't reach the person with sufficient leeway (or imagination) to challenge standard practice. It occurred to me to wonder whether gentle persistence in the right place may yield results. Just had an idea, David Mooney, a Ladder resident is Director of Development at London Wildlife Trust. Till recently he was based at Woodberry Wetlands. You'd think he or the organisation might know the right people at Thames. I'll see if he's interested and can give us any pointers.
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Great plan. The folk at Railway Fields might also have an interest, given it goes right past them.
How did that part of the New River work before then new cut? Was it one of the raised wooden aquaduct part? You probably have a thread on this somewhere!
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It was another loop. In this case, the loop was run round the land curves of Harringay Park, in the process creating the perfect spot for the building of a country seat for a London merchant.
The loops were all flattened through the second half of the 19th century (see my recent piece on this process in Hornsey). In Harringay the river was straightened in a line from the bridge over what is now Hampden Road (visible on map just to the east of Hornsey Station) and then buried in a tunnel under the hillock where Harringay House stood (now between Allison and Hewitt).
Shown on the 1869 OS (complete with misspelling of Harringay House).
PS; I've emailed David.
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Looking for something else, I just stumbled across a map included on the land indenture document used a part of the land sale to the British Land Company. Is shows the rerouting clearly and specifies that it was to be carried out by the British Land Company. SO we know that this was driven more by property development than anything else. (Ignore the kink in the new route, it was an unflattenable crease in old old original document that I photographed).
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Permalink Reply by Kit on
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Try Rosemary Waugh. She’s Thames Water’s head of corporate responsibility. Great idea. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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Is this the same Thames Water who allow the part of the New River from Green Lanes to Seven Sisters to get regularly half-filled with reeds - which I like because water birds all nest there - and rubbish, and have allowed the path on the bank to degenerate into a mudslide for most of the winter months? Doesn't seem particularly consistent...
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Yes it would be good to commend them for the reeds, but I agree it's inconsistent.
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Permalink Reply by Alex on
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Great effort, Hugh. I know a few other locals who're thinking the same.
Knowing that there are interesting visiting and native species living along that stretch (bats / stonechats / wagtails / etc), and I'm sure there'll be interesting legged as well as winged species, I think a proper audit of the flora and fauna would be a good place to start. An org like the London Wildlife Trust may be able to help gather the data needed to help persuade TW that a project would be a good thing.
https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/about/research-and-reports
Im all in favour of the initiative and trying to persuade TW of its value if its supports and enhances the known native and visiting species.
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