Common Agricultural Policyzzzzzzzzzz. No. Don’t fall asleep. This is really important.
The UK has no wilderness. Almost every inch of the UK is managed in one way or another. We live on a relatively small island that packs tons into its 94,500 square miles. Compare us with France’s 260,558 square miles or North America’s 9,540,198 square miles and you can understand how space is tight here. Without policies and rules, we’d struggle to survive.
Not so long ago, we little Englanders could create parking spaces outside our castles by concreting or laying tarmac over our front gardens. What no one had realised was that the increase of all that hard surfacing and the loss of the grass or flower beds had a profound impact.
Nattering over the garden fence, people started remarking to their neighbours that it seemed warmer these days; noting that they’d seen fewer sparrows and daddy-longlegs; or that the drains down the road couldn’t cope with rainfall and the corner shop at the bottom of the hill had flooded as a result so they’d had to walk farther to buy a pint of milk, and ooohh isn’t milk expensive?
According to an RAC Foundation report released last month, about 600,000 homes in the capital have lost 85 per cent or more of their front gardens. Nationally, seven million gardens have been concreted over to provide car parking; an area equivalent to 100 Hyde Parks or 72 Olympic Parks.
All these hard surfaces are unable to soak up rain water. They absorb heat from the sun and radiate it back, increasing urban temperatures. The loss of plants means less nectar, seeds or fruits for wildlife to eat and fewer places for it to live. That’s why the RSPB campaigned to get planning policies changed to halt the loss of front gardens.
It’s a small illustration of the unpaid services we’ve taken for granted that are performed by nature, making our lives more comfortable.
London’s wildlife is changing. The latest survey's found that the Capital is the only region in the UK where blackbirds have joined starlings, swifts and house sparrows on the list of species vanishing from our gardens. The RSPB can blow its collective horns, ring bells and lobby Government, and we do. But it’s individuals who have the power here to make a difference.
Managing outdoor spaces, whether you’ve a roof garden, windowbox, garden or farm, you can contribute. Find space to sow a wild flower meadow to help urban wildlife. Ivy is brilliant for providing winter food and year round shelter for lots of wild things. Properly managed, it can also help insulate buildings from extremes of weather. If you haven’t got any outdoor space, we’d welcome your support for our campaigns, like our push to ensure European money paid to farmers rewards those who support nature (CAP reform). Told you it was important.
Thank you for sharing because as depressing as it is to read, I’d rather know and try do something to counter this tragic situation. I blame the over-valuation of the property market because this has hemmed most people in. The lack of space is because every part of our land is being built on also for flats for making quick bucks on property! As people can’t afford to move elsewhere (unless they want to live isolated in the outer Hebredes and even that hasn’t stopped estate agent rats from putting a high price tag out on remote places now either!) then people are having to find solutions to where they live and cope with keeping costs down so finding ways around parking their cars off the streets where Councils charge a high premium for parking permits is one - everything’s to do with money and very little to do with helping the community! So I see why people have concreted the front of their homes to avoid the Council/Government blood sucking charges! Though living in London as I do, most people need a space for the car to sit on that they’ve just bought as mayor Khan and his ULEZ policy has forced people to buy a new environmentally compatible car? So I see car owners keeping the engines on and running these cars in their drive just so the battery doesn’t go! Not a very good idea in first place this scheme and completely bypasses the reasons why it was created for!!! ! live on a second floor in a studio and have very little space. Am trying to make something of the space on my window sills. And there’s a communal concreted over garden outback. So far I’ve built two extended wooden window sills and planted a nest box on one and plant life on the other with the intention of attracting the birds and the bees. There’s a water bath for insects and one for birds but it all feels a very small contribution to the grand scale disaster you’ve illustrated. So fEe king inspired to DO SOMETHING, there’s a concreted over garden out back, I am not a gardner but would like to know how to rewild this garden, take up the concrete and lay grass etc. I’m putting more nest boxes and butterfly boxes there but without the right flowers and plants growing…. I would like to have chickens which apparently fertilise but I need to seek advice on this wild garden and how it will maintain itself by attracting nature and its ‘system’ without human interference.