Rewild the golf course!

This read will take you a few minutes, but we think it’s worth your time; it will cover:

• The inadvertent impact of public health measures and the ‘Hackney Beach’ craze on the Waterworks
• Our vision of a better future for wildlife and people at the Waterworks Meadow
• The positive impact of habitat enhancement on neighbouring Hackney Marshes
• Inspiring examples of other reclaimed and rewilded golf courses
• Risks to the marshes, in particular the Waterworks, from development proposals
• What you can do to help safeguard this precious place for Nature and community

Everyone remembers (and many try to forget) the height of the Covid pandemic and the era of lockdowns.

One of the unintended consequences of public health measures was the sheer pressure put upon our local green spaces, particularly the former golf course at the Waterworks, which became a party destination for people lacking options for leisure and enjoyment at the time. The banks of the Old River Lea became a strong magnet for crowds during the blazing hot summer months, a phenomenon only exacerbated by glamourised coverage of ‘Hackney Beach’ in The Guardian.

Sadly significant damage was done to the environment, and vulnerable wildlife species, such as the resident Little Owls, were driven away. To add insult to injury, the site was proposed for the ‘Waterworks Festival’ in 2021. Thanks to a united local campaign, we prevented the applicants from receiving a licence to blast music next to a nature reserve with known Red List species. The festival went elsewhere.

After all the disruption and damage that had occurred since the golf course was closed in 2012, we were intent on ensuring a better future for the meadow. A future where the fragile riparian habitat was protected from damage and disturbance, inappropriate commercialisation was prevented, and wildlife was brought back. We wanted a flourishing natural environment and the potential for this site, with proper protection, to be a haven for Nature was obvious.

We launched a successful crowdfunding initiative to fund ecological surveys of the meadow and the adjacent Waterworks Nature Reserve. Local experts, some of whom were subsequently involved in the impressive habitat works on Hackney Marshes, carried out these surveys and found a wealth of wildlife at both these interconnected sites in 2021. There was strong evidence for the site to receive Special Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) status, especially the presence of rare species such as the Brown-Banded Carder Bee.

On the Hackney side of the River Lea, which already has Metropolitan SINC status, Hackney Council took the initiative and consulted with local groups such as ours to try and limit the most destructive behaviour such as the use of disposable barbeques and sound systems next to the Old River Lea. Whilst unsuccessful in the short-term, once the crowds had diminished (there were many unofficial reports of illness from swimming in the very polluted waters), something was set in motion which really did achieve results.

ReNature London and Wildlife Gardeners of Haggerston recently screened a film premiere showcasing the amazing work they have carried out over the last few years to rewild North Marsh and carry out river restoration, including the replanting of the denuded banks of the Old River Lea, work funded by Hackney Council and the Mayor of London. A group of dedicated experts and volunteers have brought back a number of imperiled wild species, on the edge of local extinction, such as Short-tailed Voles, Weasels and Wood Mice, that rely on undisturbed habitat.

Despite some initial positive noises, and the wealth of evidence we gathered for giving the Waterworks Meadow statutory protection and initiating similar habitat enhancements on the Waltham Forest side of the river, there has sadly been no affirmative action by either Waltham Forest Council or the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

So, we thought it time to remind the authorities of the amazing potential that exists for fully rewilding this naturally regenerated golf course, land which forms an important link in a lower Lea Valley wildlife corridor which stretches all the way from Walthamstow Wetlands to the QEII Olympic Park. The evidence of the existing ecological value of this particular site, once part of Leyton Marshes, has been carefully recorded and detailed. The results of specialised habitat works at adjacent Hackney Marshes couldn’t be more inspiring or instructive. What’s more, there are an increasing number of councils and landowners across the country who are rewilding disused golf courses to improve local ecology and combat the climate crisis, whilst at the same time maintaining public access and enjoyment.

With two percent of land and thirty-three percent of all open space in Great Britain taken up by golf courses, it seems only fair to reclaim these sites for Nature and local people when the opportunity arises.

We’ll begin with the most inspiring example from our city: Warren Farm in Ealing, another naturally rewilded urban meadow in London, home to an array of rare species, including Hedgehogs, Slow Worms and Skylarks. There was an incredible community campaign against the council’s plan to bulldoze half the site for football pitches. After eight years of determined campaigning and huge public support, the demand to halt the destructive development and grant nature reserve status to the wildlife haven was won just under a year ago.

Another example of a former golf course in London being rewilded after closure is Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham, which received a £3m grant for regreening and enhancing the river corridor. Mete Coban, former member of Hackney Council’s Cabinet and now London Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, said of the scheme: “This outstanding project showcases how improvements to green space can help Londoners to access and enjoy nature, improve biodiversity and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Sadiq has pledged to turbo-charge restoring nature to London’s rivers and waterways and this transformation of the River Ravensbourne is a great example of what can be achieved. We are proud to support this project through the Mayor’s Green and Resilient Spaces Programme, as we create a greener London for all.”

In Exeter, a former golf course is being transformed into a public green space, wildflower meadow and community orchard. A former municipal golf course in Sunderland will become a new country park and wildlife area. Waterhall Golf Course in Brighton is set to be restored to rare chalk grassland by the local council with the assistance of Heritage Lottery funding. On a far grander scale, there are plans for a large urban rewilding scheme on the site of a 320 acre city park, including a former golf course area, at Allestree in Derby. In Leeds, Cheshire, Erewash and the Vale of Glamorgan abandoned private golf courses will be transformed into varied biodiverse landscapes once more. The potential for bringing back Nature, alleviating flood risk and combating climate change through the restoration of disused golf courses has been recognised by local authorities and environmental charities across the country. These sites range from relatively modest former 10 and 12 hole courses in urban settings to extensive former countryside ranges.

At this location, the thriving natural regeneration of the Waterworks Meadow can be fully enhanced with specialised grassland management. But only if the land owner (the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority) and Waltham Forest Council recognise the ecological importance of the site. It is vital that it is included in the council’s SINC review and conversely not included in the Authority’s corporate development plans.

The Waterworks Meadow will be impacted by its close proximity to the new high-rise housing developments proposed at Lammas Road and Orient Way, as well as the Lea Bridge Station Sites and Lea Bridge Gasholders developments which have already received planning permission from Waltham Forest Council. The cumulative impact will be one of unacceptable urban cramming and further population pressure on the marshes, not to mention the additional flood risk associated with building adjacent to the outdated Flood Relief Channel. The inclusion of Lammas Road and Rigg Approach developments in the council’s Local Plan (LP2) means that sites within the Lee Valley Park have been proposed for housing for the first time. When the LVRPA fails to make its private reservations count as formal objections in the planning process this is hardly a surprise. Whilst the Waterworks Meadow lacks statutory designation, it remains vulnerable to inappropriate development by both the LVRPA and the council.

The threat posed by local authorities failing to properly assess the ecological value of sites like this could not be more evident than in the case of Whitewebbs Park in Enfield. The former golf course at Whitewebbs closed in 2021. The land has been held in public trust since the 1930s, and the 999 year lease states that if the golf course were to close, it would revert to public use. Since its closure, everyone has continued to enjoy this beautiful park. There has been minimal maintenance, and the end of herbicide use, which has meant, just like at the Waterworks, the old golf course has been naturally rewilding ever since. Sandwiched between Enfield Council’s landmark beaver enclosure on one side and ancient woodland on the other, this mosaic habitat of grassland, scrub, ponds, and sandpits boasts over a hundred trees, including majestic redwoods and a myriad of wildlife species.

Despite this, Enfield Council has agreed to lease the land to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (THFC) who wish to expand their commercial elite football training centre into the rewilded grassland section, and build a new road through a portion of the ancient woodland near Whitewebbs Lake, and take away a huge swathe of public space. The existing football academy boasts no fewer than seventeen pitches on land formerly within the Green Belt, to the north of Myddelton House. We understand from local campaigners that land within the Lee Valley Regional Park was sold off in order to facilitate this development over seventeen years ago.

Enfield Council’s SINC review was conducted without carrying out a specific study of Whitewebbs Park despite the area being surrounded by SINCs, just like the Waterworks Meadow.

We will not allow the Waterworks to remain devalued and at risk of corporate development ventures. Waltham Forest Council must include the meadow area in its SINC review, and we call upon the LVRPA to protect and enhance the vital meadow habitat. The Waterworks Centre, built as a base from which to enjoy the nature reserve, has been shut since 2020. It is an Asset of Community Value (ACV) and needs to be re-opened for use by the community.

Agree with us?

Please write a personalised email to the Chief Executive of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, making the case for safeguarding and fully rewilding the Waterworks Meadow through habitat enhancements and specialised grassland management. Address your email to: sdawson@leevalleypark.org.uk and CC Waltham Forest’s representative in the LVRPA: cllr.terry.wheeler@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you wish to include a complaint about the closure and deliberate dereliction of the Waterworks Centre ACV, please CC: crm@leevalleypark.org.uk

We also encourage you to write a short email to Cllr Clyde Loakes, Cabinet Member for the Environment cllr.clyde.loakes@walthamforest.gov.uk, and the Leader of Waltham Forest Council, Cllr Grace Williams, cllr.Grace.Williams@walthamforest.gov.uk to request that the Waterworks Meadow (also known as WaterWorks Fields) is included in the borough’s SINC Review using all the evidence available to make such an assessment, including the ecological surveys carried out by the LVRPA and Save Lea Marshes, as well as GiGL records.