Agenda item

Report of the Director of Recreation.

The report provides an update on the Council’s Biodiversity Strategy and Biodiversity Action Plan.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Recreation.

Members made the following comments:

• The work on biodiversity in the borough was welcomed, the London Wildlife Trust were leading on biodiversity national policy net gain issues and considering how it could be made fit for purpose. Could Camden not play a role in supporting the Wildlife Trust on a national level particularly as they had some of their sites in the borough.
• It was a great report and good to receive updates every year to see the amazing work going on.

Oliver Jones Director of Recreation, Greg Hitchcock Nature Conservation Officer (remote attendance) and Councillor Adam Harrison, Cabinet Member for Planning and a Sustainable Camden gave the following key responses to questions:

• The Council worked closely with London Wildlife Trust mainly because of Camley Street Nature Reserve where the Council helped fund some of the decontamination work. Camden along with other boroughs also worked with the Trust on a review of the metropolitan sinks for the GLA.
• The Nature Conservation Team worked with Highways Team colleagues and other boroughs such as Islington in providing nature-based solutions including greening and vegetation on the highways.
• The Council’s Highways Team were working hard to influence TfL to look at the whole risk area on the highways including suburban drainage, rain gardens and tree planting rather than just transport outcomes. For example, there was some recent work on Euston Road which Highways colleagues portrayed as an environment everyone could aspire to.
• With regards to highlighting the benefits of nature and biodiversity to the wider public, one of the recommendations from the Cabinet Adviser on Promoting Green Space and Biodiversity’s report was the creation of a new area on the Council’s website explaining the climate and ecological benefits of biodiversity. This part of the Council’s website was scheduled to go live by the end of the year providing all this information.
• The Council also hosted a lot of schools at its nature reserves, with the Nature Conservation Officer also doing a lot of work with schools encouraging them to make use of green spaces.
• With regards to hedgehogs, the Council was working hard to improve existing sites and tunnel connections.
• With regards to whether there was still a roof garden in Camden Town Hall, officers would check whether the roof garden was still in existence or what had happened to it although there was a brown garden with vegetation at the Council building at 5 St Pancras Square.
• In relation to the location of beehives in the borough, there was no longer a requirement to register beehives, although there was a lot of local interest in bees the Council did not hold any information except for those on Council sites of which there were not that many.
• There were biodiversity features on the roof of Camden Town Hall to support local bat and bird populations.
• In relation to the role of the new Nature Engagement Officer, they would be responsible leading on community engagement with schools, communication, working on projects and in partnership with local organisations to ensure the Council had direct influence on biodiversity issues in the borough.
• With regards to keeping Hampstead Cemetery open later so residents could use the green space, the cemetery was operated by Islington and Camden Cemetery Service (ICCS). The opening hours were reduced due to significant poor behaviour of dog fouling with a considerable number of complaints received about defecation on graves. Although areas of the cemetery such as the butterfly area were of great interest to residents, to ensure it was respected as a cemetery the opening hours were consistent with the East Finchley site which was also a cemetery and not a park and managed by the ICCS on behalf of the Council.
• With regards to the new Nature Engagement Officer encouraging schools in the borough to get the benefits of green space, that was something the Council was looking at doing getting to those schools with priority needs. The Council did try to encourage schools to make use of its nature areas as well as larger parks in the borough.  Officers would look at prioritising how schools could get the benefit of green spaces.

Officers were thanked for their work, time taken to attend the meeting and their responses.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted