Paul Powlesland

There’s also exciting news from the other end of the Back River (near Jenkins Lane). The landowner is open to giving the River Roding Trust a peppercorn lease to open a 3 acre nature reserve and re dig the Back River.

I wonder how that could have got in there 😉

Yes, in my meeting with them I was advocating for the part of the site nearest Stevenage Road to be a sort of village green pitch and the part nearest the north circular to become a rewilded wetlands.

And that at least half of the open area of the site that can’t be developed (because it’s Metropolitan Open Land) be used as a nature reserve with restored marshes. We’re looking to start a more public campaign on this soon.

Thanks!

On behalf of the River Roding Trust, I’ve already had a meeting with the developer to set out our ask in detail. The short summary is that we are asking for the restoration of the Back River through the site.

A dozen people came out on a Saturday to care for their local river, so I think we can also hold our heads high

Sure! Drop me a DM

We cared for a few 100 metres of reedbed, there remains much to do over the remaining months of winter. There is something powerful about local communities acting, without permission or official sanction or funding, to care for nature when the government bodies that are supposed to do so have failed

We combed through the reeds & removed dozens of bags of rubbish coating the area, cut back invasive species & replaced them with native trees, & removed old tree guards from saplings that had been planted long ago & forgotten about

Local river guardians have decided that we will not allow this precious natural place to die through neglect, & so this weekend we hopped the river wall & trespassed onto this land, to care, protect & restore it in the face of the failure of the landowning public authority to do so themselves

They are owned by public authorities (mainly TfL) who have done absolutely nothing to care for them in decades & wont even let our volunteer run charity, the River Roding Trust, take responsibility for them & provide public access, at no cost to TFL

Forgive us our trespasses…

Sandwiched between the North Circular & housing estates of Ilford lies a rare & precious jewel: the largest tidal reedbeds in London. However, they are in a bad way: smothered in plastic & rubbish swept in by the tide & with invasive species encroaching further every year

Full report is here, it’s well worth a read:

www.london.gov.uk/sites/defaul...

These steps are not easy, but nor is it rocket science. I already swim in the Roding in the summer, & with effort & will I believe many people could safely join me in enjoying this running river within a decade.

Other key priorities:

- Tackle invasive species which are damaging the river’s ecology & stopping its ability to process urban pollution.

- Open up access along the river (particularly on land owned by public authorities) & create physical access to the river.

- Stop and/or filter road runoff

The Roding also illustrates what needs to be done, in practical terms, to make this dream a reality:

- Fix the illegal dry weather outfalls that the River Roding Trust has now largely identified.

- Remove the rubbish & debris from the bed of the river which had built up over the past 50 years.

Swimmable rivers in London within a decade are possible with hard work, sufficient investment & imagination.

I’m really glad that the submission I made on behalf of the River Roding made it into the report, because the Roding has the potential to be one of the most swimmable rivers in London.

This is a very good way of putting it!

I think it would be a pretty good deal for both parties

What makes you think that?

Quietly left at a slow walk & then came back in & up to the bed again 15 mins later.

It didn’t flinch or run away when I turned to it & instead slowly sussed me out & gently sauntered back off the boat. It feels like the longer I live in nature, the more comfortable all creatures become with me and my presence.

I was on my boat late last night & thought I heard a scrabbling noise coming from outside. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye & looked up to see a fox had come through my open boat hatch & was climbing into my bed!

It was a pleasure to receive their excellency…

I was getting changed in my bedroom today & felt like I was being watched. I spun round to see this cheeky heron eyeing me up. There’s a better class of peeping tom out on the river!

A joyful experience of a victory rally, rather than a protest march today, as I joined access campaigners gathered under the imposing outline of Haytor on Dartmoor to celebrate the Supreme Court judgement upholding the only right to wild camp in England.

We are banned from swimming in the reservoir, it was the whole point in the protest. What was your purpose in posting that article?

Under your logic, this statistic means we should ban angling.

Not really, it’s a direct rebuttal to your rather silly point that a single death 7 years ago is a reason to stop thousands of people enjoying their lives by wild swimming.