Agenda item

Report of the Superintendent of The Commons.

The Committee received a report of the Superintendent of ‘The Commons’ which provided an update on the issues across the nine sites within ‘The Commons’ division.

Replying to a query from a Member of the Committee it was confirmed that while every possible action was taken to avoid disturb bats when maintaining trees in the Commons there were no extra cost associated with this.

A Member requested further information on the work untaken between City of London Corporation Officers and Heathrow airport. The Director of Open Spaces explained that the Heathrow Airport are required to deliver biodiversity net gain as a result of the third runway development and the City of London Corporation staff were being engaged as consultants.

In response to a question from a Member of the Committee the Director of Open Spaces confirmed that best practice regarding engagement with local plans was shared amongst teams within the open spaces department. Further to the incident at Burnham Beeches involving traveller caravans a Member of the Committee commented that this was a major issue for open spaces across the country and asked if the City of London Corporation worked with other local authorities to resolve these issues. The Director of Open Spaces confirmed that responses to illegal trespasses were coordinated regionally with all relevant local authorities engaged in the process.

RESOLVED-That the report be noted.