The Mayor has refused to dissuade Tilfen Land Ltd from developing on this precious area of rare grazing marsh.
Darren Johnson and Noel Lynch, Green Party Group members of the London Assembly, tabled formal questions to the Mayor. In the Mayor’s written response he has:
· stated he was not willing to convene a meeting to find an alternative brownfield site for the development. The Mayor said he could not see that it would be worthwhile to bring together Tilfen, Bexley Council, the LDA (London Development Agency) , ODPM (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) and environmental organizations to discuss this issue;
· confirmed that his LDA had actively worked with Bexley Council, the ODPM, GLA and partners to bring about the development on the Marshes;
· confirmed that his LDA’s support had helped secure £6 million in funds from the government’s Sustainable Communities Fund for the development;
· stated that, if he had not approved the planning application, a worse scheme would have gone ahead.
Leader of the Green Party Group, Darren Johnson, condemned the Mayor’s response, “The Mayor has a duty to protect rare habitats. Instead he is sanctioning their destruction. This is environmental vandalism”.
In a separate letter to Noel Lynch the Mayor admitted that there was “undoubtedly valued biodiversity on the site” and said that he was “extremely sympathetic” but powerless to protect the land from development.
Noel has vowed to continue to press for an alternative approach. “The Mayor has more influence that he admits. The business park proposal is backed with public money and support from the Mayor’s LDA. The Mayor must use this public sector contribution to insist that the development takes place on one of the 16 brownfield sites in the immediate vicinity.”
Noel stressed, “The Mayor must be aware that Tilfen is a company which should be open to influence on a major environmental issue. Across its work, Tilfen greatly benefits from strong links with the public sector (from which it indirectly inherited the Marshes site) and therefore also has responsibilities to the public. It prides itself on its high environmental standards and should be pressed to live up to these”.
“If the Mayor’s sympathy is sincere is must be backed with action. He should get everyone round the table to persuade Tilfen to protect the Marshes from all building development and relocate the business park elsewhere.”
ENDS