Agenda item

The Superintendent of Parks & Gardens to be heard.

The Superintendent of Parks & Gardens updated the Committee on the effect of the inclement weather during the night of 14/15 February on the City of London’s Open Spaces:

Open Spaces - Initial Assessment of Damage – 14/15 February Storm

·         Coulsdon Common – 3 trees down and 7 trees damaged.

·         City of London Cemetery – 3 trees down.

·         North London Open Spaces – 10 trees down on Hampstead Heath, and a 28m section of the Hampstead Heath Lido perimeter wall blown over by high winds.

·         West Ham Park – a eucalyptus tree down and damage to tennis court perimeter fencing.

·         Burnham Beeches – the site’s worst storm event of the winter thus far, with many public highways and paths blocked. Highways had been cleared and reopened over the weekend.

·         City Gardens – a fallen tree had blocked Cloth Fair to traffic at around 0100 on Saturday morning but the road had been reopened by 0220 thanks to the efforts of the City of London’s new contractor.

·         Epping Forest – the size of the site had made a detailed inspection difficult, but it was clear there had been damage to the Hunting Lodge and flooding at Jubilee Ponds.

The City Gardens Manager then provided the Committee with current issues affecting the City Gardens.

Finance

·         The City Gardens’ budget was in line with agreed budget profiles.

Gardens

·         A replacement project support officer had been recruited and would be in-post by the end of March 2014.

·         The annual RSPB bird watch had taken place at the end of January, with around 25 residents and volunteers taking part.

·         16,000 naturalised bulbs had been planted by volunteers throughout autumn 2013.

·         Buckingham Palace had once again gifted the City of London 80 tonnes of free mulch.

Projects

·         Officers had met with representatives from Crossrail to begin planning garden reinstatement works in Finsbury Circus.

·         A poppy dominated wildflower mix was due to be sown in St Paul’s Cathedral Garden in March 2014 by the Choir School ahead of the WW1 centenary.

City in Bloom

·         The 2014 campaign had now been launched and was being coordinated by the Friends of City Gardens.

Friends of City Gardens and Volunteer Activities

·         The Friends of City Gardens and City Gardens staff had delivered three educational sessions to children from the Lyceum School in Bunhill Fields during January and February 2014.

·         A final lifting and dividing herbaceous planting session – in conjunction with volunteers – was scheduled in Greyfriars during March and April 2014.

·         A rooftop survey had been organised by urban ecologist Dusty Gedge in liaison with the Friends of City Gardens. The survey had been last conducted ten years ago and was scheduled to take place once more in April and May 2014.

In response to a question from a member the City Gardens Manager confirmed that the Greyfriars project was in its third year.

In response to questions from members, the City Gardens Manager confirmed that the rooftop survey was being carried out at no cost to the City of London Corporation. Furthermore, at the time of the last survey there had been a total of 7 green roofs across the City and therefore, a decade later, there was likely to be more.