Have often wondered what could possibly happen if enough people just so happened to be passing a certain green space at the same time…
I thought I would try and get a before and after pic of this sorry site:
The camera lens really makes the area look bigger than it is - when walking by it is hard to imagine a block of flats on such a small setting.
2 Likes
That would be very fortunate because bare earth will be quickly over grown with weeds unless something better were to find it’s way there.
Hopefully some squirrels will bury a few acorns there too 
I was watching nature slowly take back this corner as spring was re-greening and nurturing it, perhaps aided by some guerilla gardeners and butterfly friendly wild seeds:
Image: 2021-05-22T23:00:00Z
Unfortunately it looks like the land has been ‘treated’ again as the ‘green’ is once more dessicated and brown today and the seedlings have perished:
Image: 2021-06-03T23:00:00Z
I find it hard to comprehend the wickedness and failings that allow this once green patch of land to be repeatedly poisoned and vandalised in this way.
3 Likes
That’s outrageous.
1 Like
Ultimately people can you use whatever pesticides they like on their land, and whilst there will be much condemnation of this (rightly so), there will be plenty of people using them in gardens, allotments and patios etc (I’m against all pesticide use generally to be clear!). Doing it at this time of year is especially not great as it will likely also kill lots of insects in the grass and plants.
As I mentioned further up, I really don’t understand the developers thoughts. They seem to periodically engage in acts of effective local vandalism, and in this case enviromental vandalism, on their own property which will only annoy likely objectors. From erecting their ridiculous fence, to then taking it down, putting back a lower one, ‘treating’ the grass they could not score more owngoals if they tried.
I bet they’d have had less objections if they’d not put the boards up in the first place. Bizarre.
2 Likes
I think it was a nice for someone to plants stuff on the land, but I can see why the developer pulled them out as soon as they noticed as (a) it’s their land and (b) they were planted by trespassers… So it’s not exactly another example of outrageous behaviour by the developer.
1 Like
Also - for all the developer knows - it could have been something like Japanese knotweed to try and mess up the site 
1 Like
I think that would be fine (not great but fine), but some grass was growing, which appears from the photos to now be dead, which means it’s likely been treated again.
Yeah - the seedlings weren’t pulled out, they have died like everything else that was green. Probably glycophosphate I’d guess, and they didn’t look like knotweed to me - thought knotweed is pretty hard to destroy even with glyphosphate (I think it has to be -injected- into the stems by specialists!).
Certainly it’s their land and they can do what they like (as they are spitefully demonstrating), but the tree’s have TPOs and I’m doubtful that repeated application of herbicide is having no effect.
Clearly playing a long and spiteful game here, slowly damaging the trees until they can be removed and the land developed.
1 Like
If it is the developer who’s killed the grass and pulled-up the new plants, I think it’s pathetic.
Dealing for that plot in the first instance was always highly speculative, and any payback was likely to be a long way in the future, so making a mess of the place just because he’s underestimated or not fully understood the planning implications is childlike in my opinion.
Okay, local people made their collective voice of opposition heard, but, ultimately, it was planning policy that put the block on his propsals, not the people.
You win some, you lose some - and move on accordingly.
1 Like
DC/18/109671 placed a Tree Preservation Order on the group of 5 trees on the green:
That order requires that:
Here’s a picture of the Crab Apple at the corner most extent of the green:
Note the brown and dessicated leaves on the suckers - clearly it has been sprayed too.
Personally I would suggest that is wilful damage to the tree, against the terms of the TPO and the Council should take an interest.
The notion that the land owner is unable to maintain the land and is spraying it to defend against knotweed is both disingenuous and frankly ridiculous. Hiring someone with a lawn mower would be sufficient to maintain the land - heck, I reckon there might even be some locals that would be willing to mow it for free. As pointed out on Twitter, the council could also issue a Section 215 notice to require proper maintenance of the land.
If however the council is uninterested in protecting the trees, they should cancel the TPOs and start a dialog about a suitable approach to planning - call it a small site and do something useful with it.
I think the current path of acrimony is good for no-one and will likely take the (limited) lifetime of the trees to resolve to the same outcome in any case, just after much friction.
2 Likes
Has anyone reported this to the Council’s Tree Officer? I know she’s terribly overworked, as Lewisham puts such little value on its trees that they only have one tree officer for the whole of the borough, but she might be able to do something as this is such a prominent Open Space.
Also just how safe is it to be spraying strong weedkiller around on such a site, adjacent to footpaths?
Has anyone tackled the owners of the site? Presumably still the three investors named at Companies House?
The weedkiller being used on the grass, if it’s very strong, may also be permeating down and damaging the roots of these protected trees in breach of 2 (a) or (b) of the order.
2 Likes
Its nothing less than environmental thuggery, but I would be amazed if anyone from the council is remotely interested.
2 Likes
Have just walked past and it’s crazy what is still going on here. Anyone know what the current status is? Is the Neighbourhood Planning in progress? The appeal was rejected in November so another eight months gone by of it lying in a pitiful state.
4 Likes
Let’s all who want this land kept natural keep planting the land with flowers etc.
Something has to be done about such acts….we are just fed up of these kinds. They have no respect to how they do things. They just throw there money about how they please just to get what they want!! Basically Spoilt adult type children. #SaveDuncombeHill #SaveTheGreen #LoveOurGreenPreciousSpaces
🪲:snail:
3 Likes