Despite some progress, Redbridge Council still falls short on key biodiversity commitments, prompting fresh demands for a nature emergency motion, says Councillor Paul Donovan
So, how has Redbridge Council risen to biodiversity challenges over the past few years? When first elected for Wanstead Village in 2018, Councillor Jo Blackman and myself sought to raise environmental issues up the council agenda. We were starting from a very low mark.
Jo and I were on the Nature and Environment Task and Finish Group. This group took evidence, did some site visits and came up with a plan. Among the recommendations was a review of the Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) around the borough, the implementation of grow zones (wild areas), the phasing out of pesticide usage, managing sites as wetlands for biodiversity and promoting wildlife corridors. A new Urban Landscape policy was adopted. We also brought a Climate Emergency motion to the council in June 2019. This was duly passed.
There have been successes. Grow zones have extended, with 10,000 square metres covered. Another 400,000 square metres have been given to wild space. Some 850 tree pits have been adopted in the last year, with 7,000 trees planted in the same period. Less encouraging is the failure to take forward the SINC recommendations. There has been increasing involvement from residents and groups operating on a voluntary basis. The likes of the Wren Wildlife Group, Wanstead Community Gardeners and River Roding Trust have all done a lot. This, though, is an emergency, demanding responses at least on a par with COVID. Obviously, the response thus far is nowhere near that level. National government could help by making the need to address biodiversity and climate emergencies a statutory duty on councils.
Things need to change. There are two initiatives that offer hope. The first is the London Local Nature Recovery Plan, which offers guidance on how things should progress. The second is a call for a nature emergency motion to be passed by the council. This would offer measurable benchmarks which must be met. Things like committing to 30% of council land for nature recovery by 2030 and the extension of the duty on developers to provide 20% biodiversity net gain in their projects. The culture also needs to change, so the comprehensive nature recovery strategy is embedded in all elements of the council. A petition calling for just such an initiative has collected over 1,500 signatures and will be presented to the council in January. The May elections are another opportunity to make clear to those seeking office how important it is to address the environmental emergencies.
Given the political will, garnered from grassroots pressure, we can really accelerate efforts to confront these crises. All is not lost, with many positive things going on, but time is running out; more is needed and fast.
For more information on declaring a nature emergency, visit wnstd.com/ntem
