Rewilding group ‘devastated’ as Kingsland Basin ‘silenced of its birdsong’ by maintenance work
Volunteers have been encouraging nature to thrive at the Basin for a number of years. Photograph: Kingsland Basin by Richard Croft, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A volunteer group working “tirelessly” to rewild a popular nature spot in Hackney have been left “devastated” after grounds maintenance workers began clearing away their efforts on Monday (2 March).
The Wildlife Gardeners of Haggerston (WGH) have been working for years to support the flora and fauna which call the Kingsland Basin home.
Resident and founding volunteer Esther Adelman has been interested in promoting the area’s nature since she moved there in 2012. She said the area is home to bats, fish, birds and insects, whose natural habitat has now been disrupted.
She told the Citizen: “The Basin became a sanctuary for both nature and people, especially during Covid when swans nested here and raised their young.
“[Now] every single leaf has been removed along the raised bed, along with all insects that would have emerged and these would have been eaten by the sparrows and fed to their young.
“The whole cycle of nature has been interrupted in one day”.
She added: “Personally, I am absolutely devastated to see such destruction of a decade’s worth of planting, nurturing and care to make the Basin greener and wilder”.
Adelman said she only became aware of plans to clear the area when she heard, and then saw, the maintenance workers from her home.
“They have cleared the vegetation along a long raised bed along the boardwalk at the basin, just as bird nesting season started yesterday”, she continued.
“They were even cutting down branches of a cherry plum tree in full blossom!”
WGH previously won a Natur im Garten award in recognition of their work at the Basin, where house sparrows and starlings – both on the UK Red List of conservation – have been breeding successfully thanks to the group’s dedication.
“The sparrows have gone, they won’t nest this year”, Adelman added. The Basin has been silenced of its birdsong today”.
According to L&Q Group, the company which owns the Basin and manages the grounds maintenance contract, plans to clear more plants in the area today (Tuesday, 3 March) have been paused.
L&Q published an article about WGH’s efforts on its website, saying Adelman – along with her partner and fellow WGH leader, Gideon Corby – had been ‘transforming part of the Regent’s Canal into a friendly environment for wildlife to thrive’.
“Increased biodiversity has seen birds, insects and plants flourishing above water”, the story reads. “New species nesting in the rejuvenated patch include sparrows and starlings, with kingfishers, herons, sparrowhawks and four different types of bats also visiting the site.
“Below water level, the basin has also become a wildlife breeding ground, with schools of fish and invertebrates sheltering and feeding in their new home”.
Robert Hutson, Head of Estate Services and Open Spaces at L&Q, said: “We understand how important this shared space is to residents at Kingsland Basin and recognise the dedication of those who have volunteered their time over many years to support nature there.
“We also know there are differing views locally about how the area should be maintained. Works were paused yesterday while we review the situation, and we will confirm next steps in the coming week.
“We are planning further biodiversity work here over the coming year and will work with residents as plans take shape. Our aim is to manage the space in a way that supports wildlife and works for the community, and to find a long-term way forward to look after the local area together”.
Shame on you, Robert Hutson, Head of Estate Services and Open Spaces at L&Q: if you knew that there were different opinions about the management of the Basin, why didn’t you talk to people first rather than taking a simple slash and burn measure? If you “recognise the dedication of those who have volunteered their time over many years to support nature there”, why did you then show them such lack of respect and encouragement? This is just really sad corporate-speak. Please, do better. The Kingsland Basin had become a wonder.
Maybe it was pressure from those residents who want everything neat, tidy and manicured. All too common in these new developments, they want the exterior space to be as bland as the interior. L&Q could have tried asking first – they would have found a much broader range of opinion.
L&Q mismanagement lost Hackney a Green Flag Award after pushing out residents and volunteers who took care of the place we live in.
We spent time with Robert Hutson, Head of Estate Services & Open Spaces, who admitted that L&Q lacked the knowledge to manage green spaces but he did commit to finding a way to return Kingsland Basin to its former richness. But he then instructed L&Q’s contractors to remove important habitat without reason.
Since Fiona Fletcher-Smith became CEO, L&Q has developed a culture of reneging on past agreements given verbally, by email and on paper. Good managers leave while bad, unprincipled and ineffectual managers thrive. This is what happens in a corporation where the most senior management understand they cannot afford to have people in the organisation with honesty, intelligence and courage that might expose that they do not have these qualities.