INDYMEDIA


The Heritage Lottery Restoration Project at Roundhay Park, Leeds continues. Not content with felling in excess of 350 trees (165+ for aesthetics alone) Leeds City Council have not allowed any concerns about wildlife and the ecology to stand in the way of their ‘restoration’. Contractors employed to fell trees were given a free rein to commence felling in July 2003 despite statements in the Council’s own draft documentation that ‘wildlife and ecology issues should be addressed and incorporated into tender documents for contractors carrying out restoration works’.

Extensive enquiries have revealed that the Council did not bother to get any appropriately qualified professional to check the trees for bats before felling commenced nor to commission a Protected Species Survey as required by the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. We are presently pressing the Council to provide evidence of a survey for amphibians under English Nature guidelines before any work commences on the Canal and Upper Lake but reminders have so far produced no reply and there is no sign that the Council are proactive in taking these issues seriously.

Heritage Lottery Fund continue to be evasive and uncooperative, preferring instead to shift responsibility towards the Council, maintaining that the project ‘belongs’ to the Council and that we should therefore direct our enquiries to them, whilst on the other hand claiming that their expert monitors are monitoring the project carefully and that they are entirely satisfied with the way the project is progressing.

The local Friends group have allowed all this to happen without any visible protest, which reflects badly on how they view their priorities. The majority of ordinary park users are disgusted. Even recently a very large mature beech was felled with no evidence of any steps being taken to investigate options for prolonging its life. Bearing in mind that a beech is considered old at 250 years more effort should have been expended. Honey fungus was cited once again. Officials stated that surgery would have meant that it would not look like a ‘naturalistic’ tree. In other words a design lead decision.

Meanwhile the Council continue with a scheme which seems to be the victim of poor design, bad management and lack of imagination in identifying spending priorities. This has lead to a monumental waste of public money.

But some good news. Our fight for recognition that Heritage Lottery funded ‘landscape restoration’ - code for tree felling - must stop and should be replaced by long term tree replacement and management, with due weight being given to environmental and ecological concerns as befits the 21st Century - has received support in the form of an article by David Nicholson-Lord in the Society section of the Guardian, on the 12 May, under the heading ‘Park Strife’. This has lead to some contact being made with groups in other areas keen to fight to save their trees. Apparently also the tree loss below the Mansion received a mention in Private Eye - 30.4.04!

If anyone out there needs help, advice and support contact me Tricia -  Tr1shar@hotmail.com. See also our web-site www.roundhaytrees.co.uk

TRICIA ROSS
ROUNDHAY PARK USERS GROUP