Ecological damage to Lammas increases
A walk around Lammas park with a couple of old friends was a shocker yesterday. Firstly the smell. Whole place smells toxic but differs in smell and intensity as one walks around.The amount of midges and flies and it's only April and still rather cold at night.Another hole dug and operatives struggling to find connections.Little wonder as the Metropolitan Water Board had issues with incorrect mapping and connections all the way across Northfields and South Ealing and Brentford. Much to do with the closure of The Pumping Station and water facilities at Kew and the Industrial decline of Brentford.It seems none of the experts and consultants have any idea of this.Nor it seems has any attempt been made to fully research this and find facts.Funny that it's not that difficult but it's not all online and there's the rub. If it's not online t'therefore does not exist.And that why this is now a monumental cock up that has already damaged the wildlife and birdlife that was one of the secrets of this park unless you know it really well.Quite how local Councillors and officials have managed to dick and dive, manipulate and deceive continuously for almost a full year is absolutely disgusting. This weekend a fatality occurred in another London Borough with a drowning of a child in a pond.Yesterday the Police warned about swimming in even shallow water .And in Ealing Councillors and their minions go on the attack about Nimbyism but are blind to the risks they are promoting.Principally deep water and mud right next to children's playgrounds and a Toddler centre.In a park used by generations of Kids to play safely in.Something that was not possible in Walpole Park or Gunnersbury Park where 3 local children perished playing on ice in a Pond that was fully fenced off. The justifications for the works are far from correct. no facts are verifiable and the paper trail is one of confusion and collusion.It is there to see. Just walk around the place ands see what it is like now and compare to how it was just 11 months ago.Bereft of all its wildlife. Many of the rarer birds have been replaced by scavengers,There are Rats, rather large ones quite visible in the small hours in the peripheral streets, and Foxes everywhere.How are the animal faeces going to be controlled in water, the insect larvae / The risk ( increasing ) of malarial and infectious waterborne transmitting insects? Already there's a problem with Horse flies in the park and that was caused by interfering with the local nature balance.Its is an urban environment with urban living, with more and more intensification with people having no private open space. This park has never been need more than now. For people to use safely . of any age and predicament. In safety. In health. And why it existed for over 100 years, for that very purpose.It is not a cover for additional intense developments - which is the almost certainly the real reason.The transmission of disease from the great many domestic animals walked in the park?And what if some soul drowns?I wonder if the same councillors will accept their responsibility in advance or simple pass the buck and roll out the "We will consider the lessons learned for the future"Maybe they and their advisors should look to the not too distant past and this past weekend and learn those lessons fast?
Raymond Havelock ● 53d73 Comments