Agenda item

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath (copy attached).

The Committee considered a report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath that reviewed the main aims and background informing the ‘Wild About Hampstead Heath’ project and the current progress of the Heritage Lottery Fund Application to support this project.

Richard Sumray commended the proposed use of volunteers. Jeremy Wright advised that he believed the Cornfield Meadows to be too small to house a Kingfisher Bank, however Alix Mullineaux advised that she believed that a kingfisher had settled in the area in the past.

The Leisure & Events Manager advised that there were regular meetings between Officers and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. In response to a question from Mary Port, the Operations Service Manager advised that fencing would cordon off the sparrow meadow north of the bandstand at Parliament Hill Fields following the National Grid Works. Fencing for perennial planting would be in place for one year to aid establishment. Annual meadows would be fenced off permanently.

In response to a query from Colin Gregory, the Conservation Manager advised that the proposed project would engage largely with schools from the more deprived areas to the south of the Heath, but would also engage with local schools in Barnet.

RECEIVED