Sunday 23 November 2014
Thursday 6 November 2014
Swanscombe Peninsular plans revealed
I went to the latest round of community consultations for the proposed development of Swanscombe Peninsular last night - the so-called London Paramount 'entertainment resort'. It was pretty interesting.
Being the second round of events there was more information and more detail on show this time, including a map of the site and the outlined planning boundary. Having seen both these now, I stand by my initial concerns.
This graphic above shows the proposed boundary of the planning application. I was surprised to see such an extensive area of land included south of the main peninsular. This is apparently to cover for likely 'infrastructure works' needed to accommodate the massive amount of people/vehicle traffic predicted. A spur road off the A2 is suggested. Note several large arable fields are included south of the A2 section.
I found it amusing that by way of introducing this consultation, London Paramount chose to include a panel acknowledging the 'History of Pleasure Gardens' and the subsequent "explosion of interest in the Thames as a leisure source". Included were several sepia photographs of piers and beach huts from locations along the river many, many years ago. So I guess what they're really trying to say is that these kind of these things are part of our cultural heritage anyway and who are we to deny that? "In many ways, pleasure gardens were the amusement parks of Georgian England!". I added the exclamation mark, it felt like it needed one.
There was more information this time on the environmental issues which was good to see. Their aspiration is for the resort to be "heralded as setting a new standard for environmentalism" and to "maximise the role of the river and the wonderful marshes surrounding the site". I like the latter line much more than the meaningless first part. There was mention of education opportunities, SUDS and "biodiverse green roofs", that means 'green roofs' - the word 'biodiversity' was used pretty liberally for my liking.
Here is the 'masterplan' for Swanscombe Peninsular as it stands:
So Black Duck Marsh, Broadness and (half of) Botany Marsh have been spared. However it in no way makes up for the fact that the orange monstrosity in the middle is going to have a huge impact on the ability of the site's wild flora and fauna to thrive and will irrevocably alter the sites open character. Given that when questioned, I received a pretty evasive answer about the area marked for 'Possible Future Expansion' (it would remain untouched at point of opening) it seems inevitable in this plan that the site's habitats will be diced up and fragmented with no thought to connectivity. In the first consultation I was told "we'd be stupid to build right up to the river" and yet this plan comes pretty close to achieving that, never mind that it looks like the jetty roost will disappear to make way for a new river taxi/ferry terminal. With 15 million annual visitors (!) predicted and all the subsequent noise, light pollution and disturbance, how do you think the wildlife on site will fare?
What we'd lose most here is another expansive sweep of North Kent's marshes. Ignore the 'brownfield' tag, to me, sites like this are the essence of a modern wilderness; it's an open space, forgotten by industry (and most people) but taken on by nature. London Paramount describe the site as "isolated by its previous industrial uses" and an ITV news article called it "pretty much derelict" - interesting choice of phrases here. No human use, therefore no value.
You can stamp 'biodiversity' on a million pieces of paper and you will never recreate sites like this; so unusual and exciting and filled with a sense of recovery. It is early days and I look forward to seeing how plans develop.
Swanscombe Marshes, June 2014 (photo taken from within the proposed orange 'leisure area') - read my blog about it here:
If you get a chance to go to the current presentations - the dates and locations are here. Please do. Alternatively you can write to London Paramount here. All comments welcome below too.
Even better - why not pay the site a visit? It's great. Here are some recent bird sightings (thanks RK):
Bearded Tit, Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal, Snipe, Little Egret, Marsh Harrier, Reed Bunting (7), Stonechat, Cett's Warbler, Water Rail
Being the second round of events there was more information and more detail on show this time, including a map of the site and the outlined planning boundary. Having seen both these now, I stand by my initial concerns.
 |
| Proposed London Paramount planning boundary - Nov 2014 |
This graphic above shows the proposed boundary of the planning application. I was surprised to see such an extensive area of land included south of the main peninsular. This is apparently to cover for likely 'infrastructure works' needed to accommodate the massive amount of people/vehicle traffic predicted. A spur road off the A2 is suggested. Note several large arable fields are included south of the A2 section.
I found it amusing that by way of introducing this consultation, London Paramount chose to include a panel acknowledging the 'History of Pleasure Gardens' and the subsequent "explosion of interest in the Thames as a leisure source". Included were several sepia photographs of piers and beach huts from locations along the river many, many years ago. So I guess what they're really trying to say is that these kind of these things are part of our cultural heritage anyway and who are we to deny that? "In many ways, pleasure gardens were the amusement parks of Georgian England!". I added the exclamation mark, it felt like it needed one.
There was more information this time on the environmental issues which was good to see. Their aspiration is for the resort to be "heralded as setting a new standard for environmentalism" and to "maximise the role of the river and the wonderful marshes surrounding the site". I like the latter line much more than the meaningless first part. There was mention of education opportunities, SUDS and "biodiverse green roofs", that means 'green roofs' - the word 'biodiversity' was used pretty liberally for my liking.
Here is the 'masterplan' for Swanscombe Peninsular as it stands:
So Black Duck Marsh, Broadness and (half of) Botany Marsh have been spared. However it in no way makes up for the fact that the orange monstrosity in the middle is going to have a huge impact on the ability of the site's wild flora and fauna to thrive and will irrevocably alter the sites open character. Given that when questioned, I received a pretty evasive answer about the area marked for 'Possible Future Expansion' (it would remain untouched at point of opening) it seems inevitable in this plan that the site's habitats will be diced up and fragmented with no thought to connectivity. In the first consultation I was told "we'd be stupid to build right up to the river" and yet this plan comes pretty close to achieving that, never mind that it looks like the jetty roost will disappear to make way for a new river taxi/ferry terminal. With 15 million annual visitors (!) predicted and all the subsequent noise, light pollution and disturbance, how do you think the wildlife on site will fare?
What we'd lose most here is another expansive sweep of North Kent's marshes. Ignore the 'brownfield' tag, to me, sites like this are the essence of a modern wilderness; it's an open space, forgotten by industry (and most people) but taken on by nature. London Paramount describe the site as "isolated by its previous industrial uses" and an ITV news article called it "pretty much derelict" - interesting choice of phrases here. No human use, therefore no value.
You can stamp 'biodiversity' on a million pieces of paper and you will never recreate sites like this; so unusual and exciting and filled with a sense of recovery. It is early days and I look forward to seeing how plans develop.
Swanscombe Marshes, June 2014 (photo taken from within the proposed orange 'leisure area') - read my blog about it here:
If you get a chance to go to the current presentations - the dates and locations are here. Please do. Alternatively you can write to London Paramount here. All comments welcome below too.
Even better - why not pay the site a visit? It's great. Here are some recent bird sightings (thanks RK):
Bearded Tit, Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal, Snipe, Little Egret, Marsh Harrier, Reed Bunting (7), Stonechat, Cett's Warbler, Water Rail
Monday 3 November 2014
Egypt Bay and Northward Hill 1/11/14
Out there on the marsh, beneath the hill already ominously shadowed by the last minutes of light in the day, comes one of nature’s grandest curtain calls. It is a smattering at first, of lone cries and polite applause, before the sky turns a shade darker than dusk with the sight of a mob approaching. Dressed impeccably and quite perceptibly in black, the rooks are returning to roost.
The noise is incredible and it feels like the whole landscape of the Hoo Peninsula trembles with it. In the bushes some blackbirds shriek and a tawny owl hoots nearby, but all else is indecipherable. On the marsh, after a bright autumn day spent probing the lumpy, grazed turf, the sound is a quarrel; overhead it becomes a glorious riot. The birds stream in in their hundreds. In the glowing dusk their shapes swarm together before they slowly descend into the hill and the trees there become full of it. In the dark, amid the flash of wings and the endless cries, it would be easy to think that chaos reigns. But they know exactly what they’re doing; they've been doing it for centuries.
 |
| Rooks at Northward Hill, 1/11/14 |
The rooks were the final act of a good day out at Egypt Bay and St Mary’s on Saturday. The walk out from Swigshole brought a pair of stonechat, a green woodpecker and numerous blackbirds and chaffinches in the track-side bushes. At Egypt Bay I checked out the workings for the planned breaching nearby and found a colour-ringed adult lesser black-backed gull already settled in. Unfortunately its details were too far to read. On the river was a pair of great crested grebes while the swathes of exposed mud held an assortment of waders and wildfowl. There were small numbers of wigeon and shelduck along with many curlew and dunlin. Crossing over the water from Coryton, I picked out a bird moving fast and low with pointed wings which, banking into the light, turned out to be a kestrel. Nearby, I watched a small flock of knot feed hungrily alongside some watchful grey plovers. I was surprised to see several butterflies still on the wing, including a small tortoiseshell and several clouded yellows - the latter clinging to dandelions in a final, defiant grip of summer. The highlight of the afternoon however was a female merlin perched on a fence post briefly before taking off and having a swipe at a meadow pipit. It missed, but like the rooks and all the rest, it played its part on a truly epic stage.
 |
| There ain't no mud like estuary mud: Wigeon near Egypt Bay |
 |
| Brent Geese over St Mary's Bay |
 |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)