Agenda item

Report of the Superintendent of Parks & City Gardens.

The Committee received an update from the City Gardens Manager and noted

that the City’s Open Spaces had collectively been awarded 14 Green Flags.

The Committee were informed that unfortunately Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) had recently been discovered in Stratford and New Spitalfields areas. The Director of Open Spaces chaired the OPM advisory group for the Forestry Commission, and was supporting the London wide challenge in managing this pest. The Forestry Commission secured funding from DEFRA, which had been affecting parts of west and south east London. Officers confirmed that currently they believed that OPM only affected oak trees. Members agreed that the priority now was to determine the effect it had on human health.

At this stage the costs had been limited to nest removal but the costs of spraying were not yet quantifiable. Members noted that these costs to date had been met from the Director of Open Spaces’ local risk budget. If, regrettably, the incidence spreads and becomes of a much larger scale, the Chamberlain had agreed in writing that a request against contingencies could be considered.