Agenda item

The Superintendent of Epping Forest to be heard.

 

Recruitment

A Gardener had commenced work during October 2014 alongside two temporary litterpickers.  A recruitment campaign for a Head of Visitor Services was currently underway.

 

Weather

September 2014 had been the driest month for the Forest since 1910, with rainfall being less than 20% of the long term average.   By contrast, October had been more unsettled with temperatures 1.6 degrees above the 20 year average and rainfall at 125%.  The residue of Hurricane Gonzalo had little impact across the Forest on the 20/22 October.

 

Chamberlain’s Visit

The Chamberlain had visited Epping Forest on 3 October.

 

Highams Park Lake Dam

Work had commenced on deep excavations for the floodwall to protect the Watersports Centre. Over 5,000m3 (the equivalent to two Olympic sized swimming pools) will be shorty removed from the site over the next 3 weeks.

 

Great Gregories

The site had been prepared for works to commence, with footings for steelwork having been dug in anticipation of building construction which will commence on 10 November.

 

Open House 20/21 September

750 persons had visited the Hunting Lodge and The Temple during the national Open House Event weekend.

 

Anti-Air War Memorial, Woodford Green

The restored 1935 Grade II memorial had been rededicated following restoration funded by local developer Galliard Homes.  The memorial was unveiled by peace campaigner Bruce Kent and local MP & Minister Iain Duncan Smith on 24 October.

 

Visit England

Epping’s annual visitor figures had been accepted by Visit England, leading them to declare Epping Forest the fifth most visited free attraction in London, after the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum and Tate Modern.

 

Ghost Bike

A Ghost Bike had been erected at Woodford Green to mark the death of a cyclist following a collision with a car in February 2014.

 

Traveller Trespass

A trespass involving eight traveller caravans on land at Sewardstone Green, Bury Road, Chingford on 22 September was prevented by Forest Keepers with support from Essex Police..

 

Fly Tips

The Superintendent was able to revise provisional figures reported to the September Committee confirming that Epping Forest was subject to 375 fly tips by the end of September 2014, a 51% fall for the same period in the previous year.

 

Rough Sleeper Clearance

Rough sleeper clearances now stand at 41 for 2014, compared to 50 for the whole of 2013. Three large camps had been dismantled in cooperation with the Targetted Rapid Intervention Outreach (TRIO) team, the London Borough of Waltham Forest and Essex Police.

 

Prosecutions

Officers were investigating an air gun attack on The Temple at Wanstead Flats.

 

Saprotrophic Study

Epping Forest was one of five sites across the UK to be selected by a group of European scientists – the self-styled ‘Beech Boys’ - researching saprotrophic fungi, flora and invertebrates that are associated with fallen beech across Europe.

 

Estate Management Contract

Phase three of the first year of the Epping Forest Estate Management Contract was close to completion, with previously difficult tasks such as the cutting at Yardley Hill, and Fernhills, together with hedge cutting on Lippitts Hill and Mott Street undertaken to schedule following work by contractors.

 

Street Trading Consent

Epping Forest District Council had given Street Trading Consent for a trader to operate an Airstream ‘Bubble’ catering trailer at two locations at High Beach.

 

Metropolitan Police Service cadets

Work on clearing scrub on Wanstead Flats to reduce anti-social behaviour was undertaken as a partnership project.

 

Greenpeace Event

Officers facilitated a team building event involving 100 members of Greenpeace staff at The Warren House.

 

Bushcraft

60 pupils from Britannia Village Primary, Canning Town completed a bushcraft course at Wanstead Park.

 

Staff Work Day

30 staff worked to clear invasive scrub at Strawberry Hill Pond on 12 September.

 

Sportivate Football Funding

The Sports Development Officer has successfully bid for £1,500 of Lottery ‘Sportivate’ funding towards the expansion of the mental health league at Wanstead Flats.

 

Butterflies

There was evidence that White Admiral numbers had significantly increased over the last few years, and that both Silver-washed Fritillaries and Purple Emperors had been recorded as laying eggs in the Forest for at least three years, making them a resident species again. Ringlet, which had previously been absent for 10 years, were now present in good numbers.

 

Rural Payments Agency Inspection

The RPA inspection on Entry and Higher Level schemes had been passed and officers were working on mapping alterations recommended by the inspectors.

 

Pest and Disease Surveys

An ash dieback survey carried out by volunteer Tree Wardens at six sites had found no evidence of the disease. Sudden Oak Death inspections at seven sites had similarly found no evidence of infection.

 

Gypsy and Oak Processionary Moth Surveys

All seven suspect Oak Processionary Moths that were reported to the September 2014 Committee have been confirmed as male moths. The 20^th annual Gypsy Moth survey between Highams Park and Leyton Flats recorded 35 moths. The Forestry Commission has acknowledged that the moth is now an established species and has therefore stopped monitoring activity, but will rely upon Epping Forest staff for long-term population monitoring data.

 

Challenge Network

250 young people have volunteered on Leyton and Wanstead Flats over three weekends in support of two fundraising campaigns and four practical projects.

 

Volunteers

Volunteers contributed 2,644 hours during August and September.  Volunteer Task Leaders continued to lead projects including holly clearance from the Olde Birch Well at Leyton Flats.

 

National Crucian Carp Conservation Project

A UK-wide conservation project meeting had been hosted at Epping Forest to discuss how to conserve the Crucian Carp, given that the Forest was a stronghold for the species.

 

The Chairman thanked the Superintendent for his update and commented that the level of outreach work was remarkable and that the challenges facing the forest were being managed well. He noted that the Committee had been given the opportunity on 1 November when visiting the Forest to see the excellent work overseen by the Head of Operations to manage the trees and vegetation at Highams Park Lake, and how this provided a good example of the vision displayed by staff at the Forest.

 

A Verderer added his support and congratulations for the recent work in the Forest, particularly the use of Ryetec machines to catch up on maintenance works at Fernhills and Woodbury Hollow. He expressed his recent pleasant surprise to find contractors at work at 5.00pm on a Saturday which demonstrated; he felt, the excellent working relationships built up by the Head of Operations. He went on to query whether the volunteers in the Forest included volunteer litter pickers and reminded the Committee that despite 5,000m3 of silt being removed from Highams Park Lake, this represented only one-third of the silt removal that the Verderers would like to see achieved.

 

The Superintendent thanked both the Chairman and Verderer for their kind words. In relation to volunteers, he noted that he was keen to capture the level of work being undertaken by volunteer litter pickers in the Forest and that a process was in place to achieve. He noted that he understood the ambitions of the Verderers regarding silt removal, but that he was bound by the costs associated with removing, transporting and depositing the silt at a specialist landfill site at Leigh-on-Sea.

 

In response to a question from a Verderer, the Superintendent replied that Epping Forest was not in competition with the Field Centre, which also provided bush craft courses, and instead officers were working in tandem with the Forest’s Learning Providers to identify areas for cooperation.

 

In response to a query from a Member, the Director of Open Spaces confirmed that the initial discussions had been held with both the Field Studies Council and the Epping Forest Centenary Trust with regard to future cooperation.