London Climate Change Partnership calls for more trees and green roofs as mitigation measures

Four reports are being discussed during a week of events organised by the Government Office for London and the London Climate Change Partnership to help London local government, services providers and businesses to find out how the capital’s climate is going to change, so that we can prepare for extreme weather in the future.

http://www.london.gov.uk/lccp/press/press-29092009.jsp

The ‘Adapting to Climate Change: the role of public procurement’ report concludes that millions of pounds of tax-payers money is being spent on buildings and projects that do not include adaptation measures (such as rainwater harvesting, green roofs and trees to provide summer shading) and consequently they will soon not be fit for purpose. The report shows that current procurement processes can be changed to ensure these are included.

Driving ourselves in the wrong direction: the lack of street trees and the continuing paving over of gardens for car parking will exacerbate the negative effects of climate change. Should this be allowed without a commensurate creation of uncovered ground elsewhere, or the installion of an equivalent surface area of green roofing?

9/9/09: Scientist - 'Disappearing urban gardens could be costing lives'

Dr Ross Cameron a lecturer at the University of Reading UK, and an expert in amenity horticulture, has told the British Science Festival that green urban spaces and gardens play an important role in keeping us sane and fit. They are also useful in cooling inner city temperatures – a problem that will increase with global warming – and also cooling tempers. Studies, he said, had shown that greenery and gardens could reduce crime levels by up to a third, particularly domestic violence levels.

“Creating a concrete jungle does cost lives. It costs lives in terms of depression and encouraging unhealthy lifestyles.”

Full article at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6156068/Garden-grabbing-could-cost-lives.html

Buglife: Minibeast hunt in the garden

Get the kids to take an interest in, and value gardens for their wildlife.

Resources here:

http://www.buglife.org.uk/News/Minibeasthuntinthegarden.htm

But first find a garden .......

1/9/09: London Wildlife Trust - Garden for a Living London campaign

Garden for a Living London

http://www.wildlondon.org.uk/gardening/Home/tabid/384/Default.aspx

The LWT says: 'Let's transform London's three million gardens into a network of mini nature reserves! Pledge to become a wildlife and climate friendly gardener and get your free 'how to' guides.'

I.e., don't do this .......


CONSERVATION STARTS AT HOME. Spot the Sparrow, Bee, Butterfly etc. habitat here. Car parks = sterility = homelessness = death = a further decline in numbers.

More good pro-front garden websites found .....

Have just come across this

http://www.ealingfrontgardens.org.uk/index.htm

To quote from the site:

'This website is about concreting and paving front gardens and the consequences of doing so. It contains detailed research on the extent of front garden surfacing in the London Borough of Ealing, and other information about this increasing problem.

Front gardens disappearing under hard surfacing has reached epidemic proportions in the London Borough of Ealing (as in many other parts of Britain). It has become a serious environmental and social concern.

Their survey found that:

•a quarter of the borough's 74,300 front gardens are completely hard surfaced - no vegetation at all
•a further fifth of front gardens in this borough have nearly all (90-99% of their area) hard surfaced
•well over half of the borough's front gardens have 70% or more of their area under hard surfacing
•the average front garden in the borough has 68% of its area covered in hard surfacing.

The site has a useful set of links to further resources.

Also the Urban Design Alliance:

http://www.udal.org.uk/projects.html

See especially the 'Returning Roads to Residents' link, which charts the processes which have resulted in the creeping and insidious destruction of front gardens.

29/7/09: Planning permission required to concrete gardens

Government legislation announced on 1 October 2008 has made it more difficult for homeowners to pave or concrete over front gardens.

Changes to the General Permitted Development Order mean that the hard surfacing of more than 5 sq m (6 sq yd) of domestic front garden is allowed only when permeable material is used. Use of traditional materials, such as impermeable concrete, now requires planning permission.

See here for a Royal Horticultural Society press release on the subject, and calculations showing that gravel and plants are cheaper options:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/news/FrontGardens.asp

I guess the move was better than nothing, but it's still typical of the weak protection the car-loving Labour Government has given to the environment.

22/7/09: Car-parking gardens + grass verge damage

Grass verge damage in Barnehurst, London Borough of Bexley.

Grass verges are presumably Council property. They are a public amenity which add to the attraction of living in a suburban area. They are certainly maintained by the Council using taxpayer's money. Yet no action appears to be taken over the numerous examples of damage caused by residents widening entranceways - having turned great chunks of their front gardens into sterile car parks - and using parts of verges as driveways.

If a bunch of teenage hoodies came round digging up the verges, leaving unsightly scars, there would no doubt be uproar and calls for police action. But since it's all down to 'respectable' car-drivers, nothing happens.

If a bunch of young people came round after dark and dug up chunks of verge like this there would be calls for action

Unfortunately, it may be better not to take this up with the Council, since I fear the response is more likely to favour cars by chucking tarmac over affected areas than asking offenders to please 'keep off the grass'. At least while the earth's still there, future restoration is fairly straightforward.

Allowing vegetation in the rear half of verges to grow longer, improving wildlife interest and value, would help offset loss of gardens to car parks and might just make them look less inviting to drive over than a flat, frequently mown-to-the-ground surface. Let's have more green and less grey!