Letter to local residents from the North Cray Residents Association
Dear memberThis is to further update you on Bexley’s plan to possibly sell off two pieces of Highway land in North Cray: that outside No. 95 The Grove and a long strip running along St James Way/North Cray Road.
Below are links to the marked up drawings provided to me this week by the Parks and Open Spaces department. In their covering letter they say that this proposal is at an early stage, no final decision on the disposal of any sites has yet been taken, and that even if the principle of disposal were to be agreed by full Council at its meeting on 4 March the sites will be subject to detailed technical evaluation and further public consultation before any decision is taken (at this meeting Bexley agreed the recommendations for its 2015-16 Budget and the debate can be seen on its web cast). Bexley’s reason for possibly selling off the open spaces and highway land on its current hit list of 27 sites is to reduce maintenance costs. Its argument is that “Slightly reducing the number of green areas for which we are responsible will allow us to maintain a reasonable level of grounds maintenance, to provide facilities within the parks and a diverse landscape with a range of habitats for biodiversity”.
http://northcrayresidents.org.
uk/image/groupmail_links/95_ the_grove.pdf http://northcrayresidents.org.
uk/image/groupmail_links/st_ james_ncroad.pdf How significant are the maintenance costs for the small patch of grass verge outside No. 95 The Grove – especially as I understand that local residents in the area more often than not cut the grass on their verges whilst doing this for their own front garden?
How significant are the costs for maintaining the beautiful strip of highway land lying between St James Way and the North Cray Road (close to the High Beeches Conservation Area), with its mature trees and Spring plantings made over the years? What would be the effect on this as a habitat if it were to be sold off and perhaps developed in some way? What would be the effect on the visual environment of the people living in St James Way or driving along the North Cray Road?
What might be included in any future hit list? We are extremely worried about this, too, particularly if it were to include further sections of the grass verges with mature trees that run along both sides of the North Cray Road. We lost our Village when the dual carriageway was built some 30 years ago and so this makes these grass verges and mature trees even more special to local people.
Bexley selling off any of these pieces of highway land is not acceptable. Nor would adopting, as an alternative, any savage ‘scorched earth’ approach to reduce maintenance costs. Have a look a look at the following Link which shows the appalling way in which Bexley reduced its maintenance costs on the banks of Wyncham Stream in Sidcup:-
We must all be on our guard against any similar budget-driven activity here in North Cray.
Jean Gammons
Secretary
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1 day ago
THAMES21 - TARGETED HIMALAYAN BALSAM ERADICATION PROGRAMME ON RIVER CRAY.** Revised schedule with date changes**A couple of the proposed Friday sessions have now been changed to Saturdays, which will hopefully enable people to join in who are not able to make weekdays. Past attempts to tackle the plentiful Himalayan Balsam on the Cray have jumped around from one location to another, with no sustained effort working from upstream downward. Consequently, plants removed from lower down the river can simply be replaced by seed washed down from further up. Balsam seed only remains viable for a couple of years, so a more disciplined approach could start to clear the river of it.Michael O'Neill will be leading 6 events in total over this spring and summer period, 3 on the upper stretch of the affected Cray, 3 on the next stretch down.The upper stretch being from Water Lane off North Cray Road, down to Old Bexley Village, the lower stretch being from Old Bexley Village to the confluence of the river Shuttle, next to Dartfordians Rugby Club.Dates and links are given below for both the Thames21 website (which carries background details) and for the Plinth event sign up pages.Please send these dates on to your contacts if you think they would be interested in getting involved, either as a volunteer or to coordinate control works on the Cray river. Any questions, please do let me know.Here are the links:Booking: 2nd event - Friday 03/5/24book.plinth.org.uk/e/m2F8e62NkwUwurdy4diJ3rd event - NOW Saturday 25/5/24 book.plinth.org.uk/e/i0JY9SORp1q0JstoVRTF 4th event - NOW Saturday 1/6/24book.plinth.org.uk/e/gpVVKbNti5oxiuP8lmZg 5th event (London Rivers Week) Friday 21/6/24book.plinth.org.uk/e/S1vEqb7sJoztovKqWxvg6th event - Friday 5/7/24book.plinth.org.uk/e/04q3NEldqncXlKLf5H1KFurther info:www.thames21.org.uk/event/cray-river-balsam-blitz-2/ (2nd Event) - same background details apply to 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th events. Kind regardsMichael O'NeillEngagement OfficerM +44 (0)7597584363 www.thames21.org.uk ... See MoreSee Less1 day ago
BARNEHURST SWIFT NESTING AREA - earliest recorded return date.Four, possibly six Swfts were over the area tonight (1/5), between 19.30 and 20.15, my earliest recorded date here. None were seen during an hour of circuits at the same time on 30/4. The first two spotted were over the Westfield/Midfield junction, flying towards Hillingdon, then again a bit later. Four were observed coming off Barnehurst Golf Course and over Beverley/Northall, two of which appeared to dive down towards a roof on Northall Rd (in the vicinity of a known nesting building), after which no more were seen.Using data posted to londonbirders.fandom.com/wiki/April_2024 the first Swift seen over London was at the London Wetland Centre on 12th April. There were scattered sightings until 20th April when one was at Rainham Marshes, over the river from Crayford Marshes. Conrad Ellam saw 2 over Southmere Lake on April 21st, with more than 20 at Rainham the same day, 40+here on 23/4 and 100 on 27/4. 2 Swifts were seen from Erith Pier by Tim Rymer on 28/4. There are at least two nest sites nearby, one on Manor Rd. A swift was reported over a known Lewisham nesting area on 29/4 on the Lewisham Swifts Facebook page.Previous first sightings for the Barnehurst colony were: 2023 - 2/5. My first check of the year so they may have arrived earlier. One reported at Crossness 28/42022 -8/5 (checked from 28/4) 2021 - 6/5 (had last checked 3/5)2020 - 2/5 (first date checked)2019 - didn't monitor2018 - 7/5 (had checked every evening starting 1/5)2017 - 4/5 (no prior daily checks)2016 - 4/5 (no prior daily checks)2015 - 6/5 (no prior daily checks)Worryingly, despite a few visits, no Swifts were seen at two of the very small colonies in Bexley during 2023. One was seen flying away from the Mill Rd (North Heath) site one evening, but that was it, and none were at Silverdale Rd (Bexleyheath. Although the adults may have died, there should still be juveniles out there that were hatched at these locations, so they will be checked again this season. Chris Rose ... See MoreSee Less2 days ago
Crossness River Action Group's latest haul .......www.facebook.com/groups/crossnessriveraction/posts/1141568633854019/ ... See MoreSee LessThis content isn't available at the moment
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it, or it's been deleted.3 days ago
This content isn't available at the moment
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it, or it's been deleted.4 days ago
FRIENDS OF THE RIVER CRAY AT CRAYFORD *** REVISED SCHEDULE ***Below is the revised schedule for our next few dates (issued 27/4), which involve litter removal and sometimes vegetation management.The three sessions up to 5/7 are on Fridays and run from 10am to around 12.30 (may be 1pm with packing up). The meeting point is where Barnes Cray Road in Crayford meets Footpath 106 (graphic attached).3rd May - postponed until 17th May (to avoid clash with River Cray Himalayan Balsam clearance event)7th June5th July - postponed until 19th July - (to avoid clash with River Cray Himalayan Balsam clearance event) - (hoildays allowing - I'll see who is available)Our next session is going to involve undergrowth cutting so long sleeves needed!2nd August - this session will be on the St Paul's Cray/ Sidcup border, at Ruxley Gravel Pits Nature Reserve, near Foots Cray Tesco's. We will be joining the North West Kent Countryside Partnership for a litter pick on a beautiful site with 3 lakes.This site is not usually open to the public so it is a fantastic opportunity to see it. We hope to remove all litter from the site, a task started by volunteers in the winter but with water levels too high to finish it. I am happy to walk you round any of the site you have not seen whilst litter picking. NWKCP is likely to offer lifts from Hall Place - details to follow. For more details of the Himalayan Balsam work, please see the post of 21/4 on this page.Best wishesSarah ... See MoreSee LessRecent Comments
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