Urgent: Bring the Moselle river back to life in Wood Green - one week left to comment

Next Monday, 12^th Feb, Haringey Council will ‘consider’ the Haringey Heartlands Planning permission to build hundreds of flats on the site of the old Wood Green gasworks.

Running just beneath the surface is Haringey’s Moselle river which has been culverted for a century.

This development is a huge opportunity to bring the Moselle back to life by opening it up to daylight.  It would add a whole new dimension to the site: increasing biodiversity, creating opportunities for flood prevention downstream, giving people a real connection with their sense of place, and making a green space that is vibrant and truly alive.  And improvements to water quality upstream would have knock-on effects in the East of the borough – helping the clean-up of the river as it flows through Lordship Rec, and to tackle the pollution in the River Lea.

Showing total lack of vision, the developers want to keep the river buried, and are proposing a pathway marking the course of the river.

The developers say 'daylighting' the river is not feasible.  But that’s not true – Thames Water say the water quality is already okay –  and the house drains upstream  that are illegally connected can easily be resolved.  And developers claim the culvert is too deep – but it’s actually just below the surface in some places, and the site could be contoured in others. 

All around the country enlightened authorities are seeing the huge benefits of opening up our hidden rivers.  And key planning guidance also calls for ‘daylighting’.   But Haringey Heartlands developers want to keep the Moselle underground so it can be de-culverted “in the future”.  Who are they trying to kid?? It’s now or never.  If you’d like to see the Moselle brought back to life, please take this opportunity to tell the planning committee what you think by submitting comments here:

http://www.planningservices.haringey.gov.uk/portal/servlets/Applica...

(looks scary but it isn't - just click on the 'comment on application' link)

Please say you ‘Object’ to the proposal, unless de-culverting is incorporated.

Here are some additional points you can make in favour of deculverting:

Contrary to developers claims, this proposal IS feasible, as water quality is already acceptable, and can be improved before construction is completed.  Contouring of the site can accommodate varying culvert depths.

It's now or never.  Failing to open  up the river will be a tremendous missed opportunity.

The Environment agency has stated: We believe there is a great opportunity at the site to deculvert the Moselle Brook and restore the designated ‘main river’ to a more natural state.  Naturalising rivers provides flood risk, water quality, biodiversity and recreational benefits for the area.

Restoring the Moselle river is required by the Thames River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and in line with adopted local plan policy DM28 – the developers should comply with this.

The development should comply with the GLA’s London Plan (currently under consultation), which promotes green infrastructure, sustainable drainage, and river restoration in its policies G1, G5, G6, SI13 and SI17

An excellent source of information is available from the local residents’ association:  www.pmra.co.uk/2017/12/04/saving-the-moselle-brook-if-theres-one-th...