Agenda item

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Members considered an update report of the Superintendent and the following points were made.

Revised Working Arrangements

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager noted that these were working well, and that a revised duty roster was currently being consulted on with staff.

Roman Kiln Project

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager noted that he was confident the Charitable Incorporated Organisation would be established by Christmas 2017. The project remained ‘live’ on the City of London Corporation’s project management system.

Sustainability

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager noted that he was looking to replace the battery-powered Bradshaw vehicle which had now come to the end of its working life.

Woodland Conservation and Tree Management

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager drew Members’ attention to the draft Woodland Management Plan appended to the report and noted that he planned to work with colleagues of his in Epping Forest and apply for a Countryside Stewardship Award, which would support delivery of the Plan.

·         In response to a question from Cllr Gail Engert (London Borough of Haringey) the Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager noted that he was not certain that European Union (EU) grant funding would continue once the United Kingdom left the EU.  

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager noted that Members were welcome to provide comments on the draft Plan outside of the meeting, and that the final iteration would be put to the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee in March 2018. At the request of the Chairman, he agreed to issue an email to Members after the meeting setting out the consultation timeline for the Plan, and what the review period would be.

·         In response to a request from Cllr Gail Engert (London Borough of Haringey) the Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager agreed to provide feedback to Members on his meeting with Natural England on 1 December 2017.

Stephanie Beer (Muswell Hill and Fortis Green Association) left at this point of the meeting.

Ecology

·         Members expressed their disappointment that there was little evidence that the Wood was populated by hedgehogs, but noted that Queen’s Wood was similarly affected and that the likely reason was that hedgehogs preferred garden-like settings, which would explain their prevalence in Golders Hill Park.

Volunteer Activity

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager noted that, whilst the size of volunteer groups had fluctuated in the past, group sessions were now very popular and oversubscribed.

Oak Decline and Oak Regeneration

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manage noted that the Forestry Commission was investing a lot of resources into investigating Acute Oak Decline (AOD) and Chronic Oak Decline (COD). The emerging theory was that the two conditions were in fact one and the same, and the causal agent was drought stress. Given the long life cycle of oaks, it was possible that instances of AOD and COD in Highgate Wood dated to intervention into the hydrology of the Wood when it was acquired by the City in the late nineteenth century.

·         In response to a question from Cllr Bob Hare (London Borough of Haringey), the Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager agreed that soil compaction could be a contributing factor to AOD and COD. It was very difficult to establish of the conditions represented a macro-cycle as the only ‘control group’ of ancient oaks existed in Poland, and even those had been subject to some element of human intervention. In response to a further question, he replied that the City had tried airspraying oaks but that the technique had been unsuccessful.

Tree Disease and Biosecurity Issues

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager noted that Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) had yet to be detected in the Wood, but that staff were using the opportunity of autumn leaf fall to survey trees for evidence of OPM, particularly in areas of high activity such as the playground. He noted also that the City’s Director of Open Spaces had formed a Biosecurity Working Group composed of staff from the City and Royal Parks to help coordinate responses to tree disease, biosecurity, and AOD/COD.

Pavilion Café

·         The Superintendent of Hampstead Heath noted that the City was negotiating with the current provider for a lease ending 2021, the year that the City of London Open Spaces Bill was expected to become law. The Bill, once law, would empower the City to offer longer leases on cafes across its open spaces, thus providing incentive for tenants to invest more in their service provision.

Community and Events

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager drew Members’ attention to a tabled paper that outlined income for the Wood. He noted that the Queen’s Park Consultative Group has queried ways in which a more commercial approach to revenue raising could be adopted at the Park.

·         The Superintendent of Hampstead Heath noted that an Events Policy would be submitted to the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee at its meeting in early 2018.

Infrastructure and Buildings

·         The Highgate Wood and Conservation Manager noted that the introduction of a secure storage box for deliveries to the café had lead to a clear reduction in vehicle movements within the Wood.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.