The North London Waste Plan (NLWP) covers seven North London boroughs - Haringey, Barnet, Enfield, Islington, Hackney, Camden and Waltham Forest.
For the last 8 years, PWA has campaigned against the inclusion in this plan of the Pinkham Way site, one of 9 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) in Haringey, which Natural England consider to be a Site of Metropolitan Importance, ie London-wide, like the Lee Valley and Queen's Wood.
It is an Open Green Space, and a London Priority Habitat. NLWP member boroughs and the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) all claim to be committed to protect Open Space, SINCs, and especially Priority Habitats and Protected Species. Yet all of them, and especially Haringey, are ignoring their own policies to attempt to deliver this site for waste development.
And this at a time when we hear so regularly about destruction of nature, and loss of biodiversity in the UK.
As the Planning Authority for the site, Haringey has been the fall guy, and has submitted consistently to intense pressure from the NLWA and other boroughs for years, driving this site through against all available evidence.
Pinkham Way contains almost 4% of the trees in Haringey, which help alleviate the very high pollution along the A406. These will almost all be destroyed in any development. It is also home to many bird species, including some endangered, and several rare invertebrates.
The London Plan stipulates that only Industrial Land is suitable for siting waste plants. Pinkham Way isn't Industrial Land, yet the councils and NLWA plough on regardless.
Please sign in support of PWA's submission to the NLWP by clicking hereImportant: So that you can understand what you are signing up to, please read the main points of the submission by following the link on the Sign-up Page.
(photo: Red tailed bumblebee foraging on vetch, Pinkham Way 2011)
Replies
I forgot one thing in my post.
All members of the household over 18 are entitled to sign
Susie
Thanks for posting this.
Over and above the deeply compromised planning re Pinkham Way, the North London Waste Plan itself has some serious flaws, a few of which we cover in the bullets.
One PWA colleague with experience in taking these things apart has spent a lot of his time this year looking at the volumes of data that they generate. We’ll be including his exhaustive analysis as a major part of our submission.
I’m constantly staggered at the amount of work our volunteers have put in.
Our submissions have generally been to Haringey, so most signatures have come locally. This plan however affects 2 million N Londoners in the seven boroughs. So if your networks and groups include residents there – or if there are friends you passed the recent petition to – please pass the sign-up link to them.
Or simply friends and colleagues who are alarmed about the danger to the natural world.
Only yesterday, David Attenborough was fronting a programme stating that the UK is now one of the most nature-depleted developed countries.
This site is 6 hectares, so on the ‘What difference does my vote/one SINC make?’ argument, whether it stays or goes is neither here nor there. But, to reverse the Tesco strapline, 'Every Little Damages'.
AND, if it does go, it sets a precedent which any sharp-eyed developer or planning consultant anywhere in the UK can use as a lever.
If you liked the stunning photo that Susie posted, you can see some more by clicking on the link below – all PW residents!
Thanks for reading this - and, as ever, for your support.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/64663114@N03/sets/72157626961990241
Wednesday 10th April is the deadline for signing in support of the Pinkham Way Alliance's submission to the North London Waste Plan.
This is the submission which goes to the Planning Inspector who'll be examining the plan's soundness in the autumn.
If you've signed already, as well over 1,000 have done, many thanks. Please pass on to family, friends and your local networks. Everyone in a household who's over 18 can sign. This is a consultation affecting 2 million people in 7 North London boroughs.
If you haven't signed and would like to know what we're going on about, you can read our bullet points, summarising the main strands of the arguments, by clicking on the link below.
http://www.pinkhamwayalliance.org/nlwp-reg-19-april-2019/4594574697
If you'd then like to sign, click on the link at the end of the bullets.
Many thanks for reading this