Homes threat to haven for wildlife in Gondar Gardens

Published: 22 July, 2010
by DAN CARRIER

NEIGHBOURS of a haven for slow worms, woodpeckers and bats fear the nature reserve is under threat after developers revealed they have plans for the site.

No specific blueprint has been revealed for reservoir land in Gondar Gardens, West Hampstead, but residents living nearby think a “Brookside-style” housing development could be on the cards.

The site was bought in January by two companies, Wates and Linden Homes, which held an open day to canvas opinions on Tuesday.

The reservoir land has already been the scene of a development row when another firm’s plans for luxury homes there were abandoned in 2006 after a public inquiry.

Nobel Prize-winning novelist Doris Lessing was one of the objectors on that occasion.

A similar dispute is now simmering over the land decommissioned by Thames Water in 2002 and home to 30 types of birds.

Wates’s planning manager John Tarvit said the firm wanted to gauge views of residents nearby before drawing up definite plans.

He said: “We want to see what people who live here think should happen to it. 

“We could have a community garden or a wildlife reserve here.”

Mr Tarvit would not be drawn on what scale the development would have to be for it to be financially viable.

Linden Homes boasts on its website that it is “...a leading new homebuilder with a truly impressive brand”, while Wates calls itself “...experts in achieving planning consents on residential development projects”.

Gondar and Agamemnon Residents Association chairman David Yass said: “Planning policy has determined that the borough is best served by this site remaining undeveloped. We are firmly against development.”

Fortune Green Lib Dem councillor Flick Rea said: “People who live here say there is not enough open space already.”

Fellow Lib Dem councillor Russell Eagling added: “The site’s designation as open space should have value. It is in the unitary development plan as open space – and this is a serious document that needs to be given proper weight.”

A spokesman for Wates and Linden Homes said: “Government guidance gives priority to developing previously developed land. While there is little evidence of the reservoir on the surface, the extent, size and age of the structure means the site has to be fully secured to prevent unauthorised acc­ess.”

The statement added that while the site was designated as open space, the firms were “...aware there is a housing shortage within Camden which needs to be satisfied”. 

Linden Homes managing director Darren Maddox said planning policy for the site was “particularly complex”. He confirmed the firm had spoken to architects. 

“We have been through a procurement process to assemble a high-quality project team with expertise in ecology, sustainability, heritage and architecture,“ he said. “Creating plans for a development of this sensibility does not happen overnight.”