Archived press release

Plans to destroy london's largest wildlife site may be illegal says friends of the earth

23 January 1998

English Partnerships' application to build a drive-through restraurant and warehouses on one of the UK's most important wildlife havens, Rainham Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), has met with a storm of protest from conservationists and local people [1].The scheme would involve concreting over the area which has never before been developed (in other words it is a 'greenfield' site). In the case of greenfield sites, the agency must have 'directions' and 'consent' from the Secretary of State for the Environment, John Prescott, before the application can go ahead [2].

Specific legally binding guidance from the Secretary of State also says: “The Agency should be alert to heritage and conservation issues, liaising where necessary with bodies involved in this work. Where the site of a project the Agency is supporting or carrying out is designated as being of particular heritage or conservation value, it should seek to conserve and, wherever possible, enhance that value.”[3] English Nature, the Government's wildlife agency that designated the area as a SSSI, has formally objected to the application throwing into doubt the extent to which English Partnerships bothered to liaise with it. It is also self-evident that destroying a significant area of a SSSI is neither conserving nor enhancing it. The plan is even against the agency's own policies [4].

Matt Phillips, wildlife campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:
“Friends of the Earth has smelt a rat. Either Mr Prescott has secretly directed English Partnerships to destroy London's largest wildlife haven, or the application may be illegal. It's time for Mr Prescott to come clean and tell the public why his quango is planning to put taxpayers money into destroying Rainham Marshes. Havering needs £8 million of investment, but destroying one of London's assets is not the right way to spend it.
“The irony is the Government says it has plans to improve protection for wildlife”.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Inner Thames Marshes SSSI of which Rainham Marshes is part is by far the largest nature area in Greater London and is one of the few remaining remnants of the marshes that once fringed the Thames. A significant population of Water voles (Arvicola terrestris)has recently been found on site for the first time by local conservationists and it is also visited by highly significant numbers of Teal as well as Short-eared owl, Godwit, Shoveller and redshank. The site is designated under Section 28 of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. It is owned by Havering Borough Council, but it has been much abused in the past by tipping of waste and motorcycle scrambling with the result that parts of the site have a run down appearance. This in turn has fuelled the misplaced opinion that the site is worthless and can only be improved by built 'development'.

Local people have formed the Friends of Rainham Marshes to campaign for a brighter future for the site. They have called for it to be positively managed to transform it into a high quality nature reserve for Londoners to visit and enjoy.

The population of Water voles found on the SSSI by conservationists from Friends of Rainham Marshes may be one of the largest in Greater London. This species has declined by 74 per cent in the last ten years and is the subject of a Government rescue project with its own 'biodiversity action plan'.

[2] English Partnerships was set up in the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 where it is known as the Urban Regeneration Agency. Its prime duty under Section 159 of the Act is the redevelopment of vacant, unused, under-used,contaminated, derelict, neglected or unsightly land. In the case of greenfield site, the agency can initiate development on greenfield sites, but only if it has already received the'directions' and 'consent' of the Secretary of State (paragraph (3) subsections (a) and (b)).If the Agency has not received these directions and consent in this case, then the whole application may be illegal.

[3] The Guidance from the Secretary of State for the Environment to English Partnerships(the Urban Regeneration Agency) of April 1994 paragraph 23. The agency is required to follow guidance under Section 159 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 paragraph (3) subsection (a).

[4] English Partnerships says in its own document English Partnerships: Improving Our Environment that it is “contributing towards the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, the Biodiversity Action Plan and national forestry targets.” It states it welcomes proposals that:“benefit wildlife and plantlife” and claims to “recognise the role of parks and public open spaces as important contributors to the process of regeneration”. Above all it states in itsInvestment Guide that: “The Agency will not support applications which:- Are on greenfield sites, except where they are linked to a specific policy initiative such as the coalfield programme or the attraction of inward investment.”

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