Bianca Jagger talking on human rights in Tibet. Pic. Wolfgang H. Wögerer
International human rights activist Bianca Jagger, former wife of Mick Jagger, has joined the protests against the current tree felling in Beckenham Place Park.
A number of trees are being felled in Beckenham Place Park to make way for a man-made lake and to rejuvenate the park.
Jagger weighed in on the dispute between the members of the public and Lewisham Council on Twitter earlier this month.
Lewisham Council received a grant for £4.9m in 2016 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to help redevelop the land.
According to the council, about 80 diseased or dead trees will be taken down, except for the memorial trees and five acres of new woodland has already been planted.
However, members of the community including Jagger have still expressed concern over the effect the tree cutting might have on local wildlife.
Pic: Twitter
Oliver Newham, the lead campaigner for Woodland Trust, said: “Fortunately, ancient woodland will not be lost at Beckenham Place Park, and we have been assured that new planting will provide a buffer to this precious, irreplaceable habitat. Furthermore, no veteran trees will be removed unless they are deemed as ‘dangerous.”
“The Trust will continue to monitor the activity at Beckenham, and hopes that the local community is kept informed as work progresses.”
Some areas of scrub and undergrowth within the parkland will be removed to improve sightlines and views across the parkland and to the key heritage buildings.
Some of the planting included in the closed golf course will be removed. According to Lewisham Council, these trees are being cut due to low habitat value and the young age of the trees.
Management plans are being made to ensure that the existing acid grassland and woodland are maintained effectively in the future.
80 dead or diseased trees removed. . . really? Lewisham Council are felling HUNDREDS of mature, healthy oaks, birches, cedars and cypresses in Beckenham Place Park. These trees have graced our landscape, sheltered wild life and given us clean air for decades. And at the same time as Lewisham Council turn the LUNGS of London into a tree graveyard, they ask us to sign a “clean air pledge”. Hypocrites! They say the trees have to go in order to “re-create an eighteenth century landscape”. As we all know, trees only arrived in S.E. London in the 1900s, but the BMX tracks are indigenous. So. . . farewell, the ancient woodland, as BMX bikers crush the bluebell shoots and drive out wildlife. And it seems we are all powerless to stop this desecration. So, so sad. Once gone, gone forever.