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| Dr Rodney Cole receiving an award on behalf of the Langdon Living Landscape from wildlife television presenter and cameraman Simon King in June 2014. |
Letter to Thurrock Council from Dr Rodney L. Cole, Chairman of Langdon Living Landscape Committee:
28th January 2015.
Dear Sir,
Staffing
cuts on the Langdon Hills Country Park (One Tree Hill and Westley Heights)
In my capacity as Chairman of the Langdon Living Landscape Committee I
have lately been informed by various users of the Langdon Hills Country Park
that some profound staffing changes are currently being mooted, as part of the
financial restructuring which, I could well believe, is necessarily being
considered, given the huge pressures upon local authority spending. What I hear is short on details, but it is
sufficient to cause me to write to you, drawing attention to some very real
concerns.
1. The Country Park has within it a remarkable
variety of natural and semi-natural habitats, which between them sustain a
correspondingly rich biodiversity.
Indeed, the whole Langdon ridge, of which the country park forms a major
part, is of regional and indeed, for some groups of organisms, of national
significance. For example, it is the
richest location in the entire county for butterflies, with species which have
died out everywhere else in Essex. That
richness is in substantial degree the result of the sustained and skilful
management of crucial parts of the country park by your staff, who, between them,
hold a valuable body of knowledge acquired over many years. The same applies to their management of other
wildlife features, of course, including nationally rare bumble bee species,
rare wildflowers, orchids, birds, and such like. They are the custodians of a rich legacy, all
the richer because so much of such richness has long since disappeared
elsewhere in the borough. Their skill in
managing these sensitive features and locations, amid the overall business of
running a country park vital for so many usages by the visiting public, is a valuable
asset to the borough and region. So too
is their skill in promoting education concerning these very features.
2. The park includes within it a series
of fine – and varied – ancient woodlands, the sensitive management of which is
crucial. After past decades when these
things were inadequately appreciated, more recent decades have seen the
reintroduction of the coppicing regimes vital for the long-term vitality of
these beautiful and scientifically important legacies. Such management is, however, somewhat
labour-intensive, and an appropriate team needs to oversee the cycle of coppice
management involved: continuity of supervision is crucial.
3. By the same criterion, some of the
meadows have SSSI status (Site of Special Scientific Interest), requiring timed
management inputs as per arrangements overseen by Natural England and reviewed
periodically in the light of scientific observation. Once again, continuity is crucial – as are
seasonal inputs of practical hands-on management. Furthermore, there is a whole series of
scheduled Local Wildlife Sites within the country park, all of which need
sensitive and considered management.
4. It is our very good fortune that we
have a first-rate team of staff managing what is an extensive country park, and
its loss or serious diminution would have a profound effect on the
above-mentioned issues.
5. Furthermore, the public pressures
upon, and expectations of, the park are now greater than ever, courtesy of the
inexorable growth of population within Thurrock and surrounding local
authorities, coupled with far greater mobility than people had, half a century
ago. In, say, 1960, the public pressure
was far less; there was not the proliferation of paths, and cycle-riding, and
horse-riding, and jogging, and dog-walking, that is now current. Perfectly legitimately, people crave fresh
air, exercise and beauty – but between us all we are in serious danger of
depleting, diminishing and destroying what we seek to enjoy. The need for constant management of the
stretched resource of the country park is now greater than ever – and is set to
get even greater, given the continued population growth. The very last thing that ought to happen is a
major reduction in staffing resource.
6. It is worth bearing in mind that in
1960 the park – then under the County Council – had two full-time workers (one
based at Westley Heights, one at One Tree Hill). That was at a time when, as indicated above,
the public pressures and expectations were far less, yet even then the demands
upon two excellent workers were considerable, to the degree that it became
necessary to augment their ranks as Basildon New Town, and Corringham and
Stanford, and so many other locations, grew.
To go back to staffing figures akin to those would be to undo a huge
amount of collective and cumulative achievement, and expose the park to public
abuse by those elements which sadly are forever with us.
7. Insofar as Thurrock Council, like
all local authorities, has an obligation under the terms of the 2006 NERC Act
to maintain and maximise the natural biodiversity of the region it presides
over, that responsibility is directly relevant to the adequate protection and
management of the country park.
I appreciate the ghastliness of the economies and cuts which your
authority is now obliged to consider and implement, and I can see that it
requires the wisdom of Solomon when it comes to making final decisions on where
the axes must fall. Nevertheless, such
is the nature of my position, with so many people looking to the Living
Landscape Committee to uphold and lobby for their vital interests in enjoying
the local landscape, that it behoves me to draw these issues to your
attention. A huge amount is being
achieved through voluntary endeavour on Langdon (see our various publications
for corroboration, also accessible through the Living Landscape page on www.bnhs.net/living-landscape) – but we do need the constant
back-up from your professional staff.
After all, through a tremendous number of hours of voluntary effort, the
Council gets huge value for money from its very modest expenditure on country
park staffing.
I beseech you, therefore, to do all that you can to prevent devastating
staff cuts being imposed upon the country park.
Yours faithfully,
(Dr.) Rodney L. Cole
Chairman, Langdon Living Landscape Committee.
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