Representation by Andrew Crawford
- Date submitted
- 16 June 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I first discovered Crossness after moving to Woolwich in 2010, and have frequently walked to it along the riverside, enjoying the wildlife, and appreciating that somewhere like it still existed in London. The habitat at Crossness is increasingly rare in the London area and I believe we should be expanding it, not reducing it as Cory's proposal would do. It attracts many rare species - I myself have watched Marsh Harriers, Water Voles, Bearded Tits, Little Ringed Plovers, Barn Owls, Skylarks and many other species there which are hard to find in London. These should be protected fully in my view, and not have the meagre amount of land set aside for them chipped away by a corporate proposal that ironically is ostensibly about environmental good. It is in fact corporate green-washing. My main objection therefore is that this is completely about putting Cory's corporate reputation ahead of environmental concerns. I understand there are alternative sites that could be used without the same environmental impact - why are they not pursuing on of these if environmental concerns are their top priority? The claim by Cory is that the land lost from the Crossness reserve will be 'made good' by an area of mitigation in the Peabody land. I've accessed the reserve many times through that land, and it is already 'natural' and used by wildlife. So in fact Cory's proposal would offer no mitigation at all. Besides the potential loss of land, I'm concerned about the impact of the buildings themselves. Both the process of building which would be highly disruptive to wildlife in the area, but also the ongoing impact of the new buildings, some of which would be extremely large and impact the degree to which the area retains a degree of wilderness as opposed to feeling ever more urban. I still visit Crossness whenever I can and it's important to me that the special value it holds isn't gradually eaten away by proposals such as Cory's. With today's focus rightly being increasingly on the value of nature and wildlife to human well-being and mental health, as well as its commercial value (less concreting over of nature land can help mitigate flood damage for example), proposals such as Cory's should not even get past the drawing board stage.