Habitat Creation in the Lea Valley Park 101
loosestrife and provides home to Water Voles and breeding birds such as Sedge Warblers, Whitethroats
and Reed Buntings.
Over 80 acres of the site is arable farmland, with the Greenwich Meridian running through its heart.
Following use for storing materials during decontamination, the long term aim for this area is to
restore the historic landscape through hedge and woodland planting. Features such as permanent
grass margins and conservation headlands will benefit wildlife, in particular birds such as Grey
Partridge and Skylark. Sacrificial seed-rich crops will be sown within the farmland to provide food
during the winter for farmland birds such as Linnets. Yellowhammers and Tree Sparrows.
The core of the site which was left with a clay cap will be overlain with subsoils and topsoils and
seeded to create grassland meadows. Management of these meadows will be designed to allow wild
flowers typical of the Lea Valley to become established naturally in due course. Cutting or grazing
regimes will be designed to develop habitats for small mammals and invertebrates such as bush
crickets. To provide an opportunity for research and interpretation into ecological succession, an
area of the site will not be treated with topsoil. Tree planting on the meadow areas will be limited to
providing links to or buffering existing woodlands. Species composition will complement that found
elsewhere on site or in the immediate vicinity. Just outside the area acquired by the Regional Park is
a mature native Black Poplar Populus nigra ssp. betulifolia The Park Authority has taken cuttings
for growing on and eventually replanting elsewhere on the site and at appropriate locations throughout
the Lee Valley.
The site is bounded to the north by 'Black Ditch', a waterway formerly used to transport goods into
and out of the ordnance factory. The decontamination process removed most of the vegetation from
the banks of the ditch but since then the banks have been re-profiled. Phragmites reed put to one side
prior to decontamination has been re-planted to provide a 'kick-start' to the re-vegetation of the
watercourse. Shelves have been incorporated into the banks to allow the development of dense
marginal vegetation aimed at providing habitat for Water Voles.
Conclusions
The creation of this new parkland is a genuine good news story when so many green sites are being
lost to development elsewhere. As the site matures there is no doubt that it will contribute significantly
to biodiversity in the Lee Valley. There is also no doubt that the surrounding area is going to be
extremely important to wildlife of the human kind! Over 1500 new homes are to be built to the north
and west of the site within the next five years. As a result there is going to be significant pressure for
recreational use of the site. Based on experiences from elsewhere in the Regional Park, plans for
access and visitor facilities are currently being developed. With careful design and positive
management the Authority is confident that people and wildlife can coexist. This will be the subject
of a future article. In the meantime, the development of this site from scratch provides many
opportunities for research. If you would like to embark on long term research on the site or would
like further information, please contact Tim Hill at the Lee Valley Regional Park on 01992 717711
or e-mail tliill@leevalleypark.org.uk.
Reference
LVRPA & HMWT. (2000) Biodiversity Action Plan: Partnership in Action for Wildlife. Lee Valley
Regional Park Authority.
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)