Guest post by Emma Wallace, Green Party Candidate for the Brent and Harrow GLA Constituency
Emma Wallace at the scene
Residents living next to the Metropolitan and Chiltern lines straddling
the boroughs of Harrow and Hillingdon, have witnessed a series of distressing environmental
actions carried out by TFL this new year.
Over the last two weeks, TFL contractors have been arriving daily with
chainsaws, strimmer’s and tree chippers and removing huge stretches of trees
and vegetation running along the Metropolitan line between Pinner towards
Northwood Hills. This act of
environmental vandalism has meant a biodiverse, green corridor has now been severely
reduced, impacting nearby residents’ health and mental well-being, as well as
removing habitat for local wildlife.
Post-destruction
Destruction of habitat and wildlife by TFL Contractors
Simon Joshua, founder of Harrow Biodiversity and Environment,
has visited and reported about the destruction near the Hazeldene Estate,
Pinner, located just metres from the Metropolitan and Chiltern lines. He writes:
“Green corridors are vital,
protected habitats for many wildlife species.
They enable them to forage, travel to find new populations and areas to reproduce
in. Isolated pockets of green are
infinitely less beneficial. Motorways,
roads and railways provide ideal, protected green corridors and provide a haven
for many species that would otherwise not be able to survive in today’s urban
areas. Most of these areas remain
inaccessible to people and therefore are relatively undisturbed.”
The green corridors running along the Met line are a rich
habitat for a diverse range of wildlife, from owls, kites, woodpeckers,
jackdaws, robins, parakeets and numerous other birds, to badgers, hedgehogs,
foxes and other mammals.
These species, many
protected by law, are increasingly forced into these small green spaces, as a
result of the loss of suitable habitat through increasing development in London. Now that mature trees of 20+ years have been
felled along this Met line embankment, squirrels lack a place to forage, birds
have lost their nest sites, woodpeckers have lost trees for feeding and nesting
and the perch for the local owl has gone.
And as Simon Joshua states, “TFL claims that the removal of trees is
vital for safety. Apparently, it is not
about leaves. The trees being removed
are not old, not diseased and not in danger of falling down. How many incidents have there been in the
past ten years along this stretch of the railway?” Listen to Simon talk about the damage that
has occurred along this stretch of track in Pinner, HERE.
Karen Pillai
Local resident Karen Pillai, who lives on the Hazeldene Estate,
had set up ‘Pinner Green Junior Wildlife Group’
for local children to learn about the wildlife in their neighbourhood and help
preserve the environment they live in. They
had also started a biodiversity project with the support of local MP for
Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, David Simmonds and local councillors. The children are absolutely devastated that
the wildlife now has nowhere to live and their green environment has disappeared.
Witnessing the destruction over the last two weeks, Karen
Pillai asked the contractors whether an ecological survey of the area they were
clearing had been completed or if they were aware that the trees they were
felling contained birds’ nests. Their
response was to laugh at her. The contractors
who carry out TFL’s Trackside Vegetation Management, ‘Cleshar Contract Services’,
were awarded a £10-25 million pound contract until March 2022 LINK. It appears that these contractors have little
awareness of the environmental value of these track-side spaces they have been
given to manage, the importance of trees or the legal obligation to protect
many species that live here.
Impact on residents’ health and well-being
Whilst the loss of wildlife is tragic in itself, it is also
the impact to resident’s health and well-being that is of huge concern. The local community were not informed by TFL
that these works were going to be carried out, consequently have not had an opportunity
to raise concerns or ask for a consultation of the works to be carried out. They are now left without trees to protect
them from the pollution, light and noise from frequent trains passing, both on
the Met line and the Chiltern Railway.
Karen Pillai writes:
“These
trees protect us from pollution as we are bordered by the tube line which
produces emissions and the busy main road on the other side. Systematic removal of our protection from air
pollution puts those who live on our estate at a higher risk of lung disease
and also more susceptible to illness. Deforestation also has links to
pandemics, because nature acts as a buffer protecting us from many illnesses
including Covid. This is why parks and
green spaces were deemed safe last year, during the pandemic. We live in a high pollution area and there is
a high incidence of asthma and lung disease in children because of traffic
pollution. Some of the work was carried
out last year and we thought that was the end of it; but now they are removing
more trees and green cover which will make it worse.
The trees also provide a barrier from the noise of the
constant tube trains and dampen the continuous roar. Trees provide us with
shade and help offset flooding and land slippage. Our flats already suffer from
severe damp, without removing the bordering trees that help to drain it. The
trees also support each other and removing the undergrowth increases the risk
of larger trees falling.”
On the right lines? Report
In January 2012 The London Assembly Environment Committee
published a report entitled ‘On the right lines? Vegetation Management on
London’s Railway Embankments’ LINK.
This report highlights how London Underground trackside land totals 10% of all
green space in the city and has huge environmental importance. Darren Johnson, then Green Party Assembly
Member and Deputy Chair of the Environment Committee, wrote about the embankment
vegetation:
“Not only can it provide privacy and enhance the attractiveness of
neighbourhoods, it also shields residents from disturbance and dust generated
by passing trains. Moreover, London’s
biodiversity benefit from the habitats and wildlife corridors that line-side
vegetation provides across the length and breadth of the capital. It is a vital
green asset for Londoners.”
The report goes on to point out that there has been much public
concern about TFLs line-side maintenance over the years, including the
excessive removal of vegetation, the disturbance to wildlife and the lack of
correspondence with residents. The
report makes three key recommendations, including “that local residents are accurately
informed as to the nature of the works, how long they will take and how the
wildlife is going to be effectively protected.
Many residents living alongside railway lines are passionate about the trees
and wildlife at the bottom of their gardens and I would like to see line-side
managers make common cause with residents to treat these green spaces more as
assets and not as a maintenance liability.”
A problem across the whole of the TFL Underground Network
Reading the On the right lines report more than nine years on,
it appears that little has changed and the recommendations have unfortunately not
been implemented by TFL. Along with the recent
events along Pinner’s Met line, there have been frequent reports of unnecessary
tree felling and excessive removal of undergrowth by TFL across the more than
55% of tube network that is above ground.
In 2019, there was an online 38 Degrees petition started by
Chris Sullivan, calling on Sadiq Khan and Transport for London to ‘Stop
Destroying the Trees on the Piccadilly and Metropolitan Line’, focusing
specifically on the Piccadilly line stretch between Rayners Lane and Ealing
Common: LINK
In February 2019, residents living near Chigwell to Grange
Hill stations on the Central Line complained about the lack of consultation and
the unnecessary felling of trees to be carried out by TFL over an 18 month
period. This report states that 60,000
tonnes of vegetation were to be removed: LINK LINK
In May 2020, residents near Wimbledon Park on the District
Line reported “very aggressive men with chainsaws” causing major environmental
damage, reducing privacy to their homes and affecting their mental well-being
during a pandemic. They were also not
consulted about the trackside work LINK.
The London Mayor’s Green Promises
In 2018, Sadiq Khan set out a bold vision in his ‘London
Environment Strategy’ to protect, increase and improve London’s green
infrastructure and make London the world’s first National Park City LINK. The mayor has since launched many Green initiatives
to encourage people to get involved in London’s green spaces and help address
the climate and ecological emergency.
In
November 2020, he announced he was investing more than £10 million in green
projects, including £700 000 to the ‘Mayor's Grow Back Greener Fund’, awarded
to a range of community projects to create and improve green spaces LINK. Khan has also invested almost £5 million
pounds in tree planting projects in London since 2017. Whilst these initiatives are admirable in
their efforts to make London a greener city, wouldn’t it be more logical to try
and preserve the already biodiverse, green urban spaces we have running
alongside our tube network? This would
save money and ensure that wildlife and vegetation that already exists has a
home for years to come. The money saved
could also be invested to proper training for TFL contractors on vegetation
management and trackside biodiversity and habitat protection?
In June 2020, Lib Dem Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon asked the
Mayor to set out the “overall policies that TfL adopts towards tree cutting and
felling alongside London Underground lines.” LINK Sadiq Khan listed a number of reasons why tree
felling track-side may occur, stating that “TfL is also committed to enhancing
biodiversity where possible." He
also stated that “Sites are assessed prior to and during works, and if a nest
is found the work is stopped and a buffer zone of vegetation is left in place.” Both these statements have been contravened
by the actions carried out by TFL along the Metropolitan line this January.
Future actions for TFL?
With this excessive removal of vegetation along the Met Line,
we have lost another rich, green space in London that would help mitigate the
effects of climate change, air pollution and provide a place for wildlife to
live. The environmental vandalism
carried out by TFL and their contractors reveals a disregard for our climate,
population and wildlife, of which we share the planet. I call on the London Mayor and TFL to
immediately stop the excessive removal of habitat from trackside embankments
and ensure that biodiversity surveys are carried out before work begins, that
local residents are informed and given time to feedback concerns, and that the
contractors are trained on effective vegetation management.
Simon Joshua also suggests that “there may be an opportunity
to correct the ecological disaster that we have witnessed. The council has already given permission to
plant along their side of the fence line.
It may take a decade to come close to what has been exterminated this
month, but we could plant an area that would benefit residents of the estate
and homes but also encourage wildlife to return. In order to do this, we require financial
compensation to provide trees and plants to replace what TFL has destroyed.”
Please contact the below TFL
representatives and make your thoughts know about the recent actions:
TFLs Chief Safety, Health
and Environmental
Officer, Lilli
Matson
LilliMatson@tfl.gov.uk
TFLs Head of Track for
London Underground, Duncan Weir
Duncan.Weir@tube.tfl.gov.uk
