I took a call this morning from a lovely lady called Elsie Pilbeam.
She and her partner, Tony, used to live near some flats off east London's Dunston Road on what was then the Haggerston Estate. They used to enjoy watching house martins zoom down to the nearby Regents' Canal to gather wet mud for building their nests under the eaves of the flats. The estate is now almost completely gone, apart from one block which has three active nests. Elsie says she's seen small heads poking out of the dry-mud nests and added that there are crusty scars of old nests, testament to the fact that there used to be far more martins here.
Elsie and Tony still live locally and regularly walk past the site. They've kept nature diaries for the past 25 years, so know what they're talking about. She spoke fondly of the swifts nesting near her new home but there's a sad note to her voice when she states confidently that there are far fewer swifts and martins than there used to be.
There were more than 400 homes on the old estate. The plan is to replace them with 761 new homes made up of flats and houses with community facilities. These human homes are desperately needed, but so too are homes for nature. There's plenty of research showing the importance of integrating nature and architecture. The benefits for people and wildlife are huge; yet far too many new developments still fail to deliver on their promises.
Architects and builders have few excuses. There's even a new British Standard to help them. BS42020 lays out clear templates and guidance reflecting international and national targets to halt the loss and decline of biodiversity by the year 2020. 60% of our UK species are vanishing and much of this decline is because we've removed or altered the places wildlife calls home. So will the new Haggerston estate have space for martins? Elsie, Tony and I certainly hope so and we'll be looking out for them.
NB
RSPB London is in discussion with others, such as London Wildlife Trust, on the practicalities of establishing a new task force of monitors, ensuring environmental promises made in planning applications are delivered and maintained. Too often, irresponsible developers drop "green" promises or falsely claim to have delivered green infrastructure. At the moment it's unchecked. For those who say... "So what!" Without wildlife much of the food you buy would not be available. More trees, green spaces, shrubs and hedges can help manage the impact of climate change; reducing air temperatures and humidity and reducing the risk of flash floods from heavy downpours. Nature saves you money and provides all the essentials you need to live. When rogue developers fail to meet the promises they made to gain planning permission, they cheat tax payers and harm wildlife. It's time these cowboys were brought to book.