CALA Homes’ Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Opinion for Maidenhead Golf Course has been published on the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead’s planning portal, and admits the development of this publicly owned woodlands and greenspace will lead to the “destruction” of protected species and “permanent loss” of “woodland of high ecological value”.
The information is designed to help RBWM, as the local planning authority, to identify the main effects that a proposed development of this 55 hectare site is likely to have on the environment.
The document sets out ‘the intended scope and the methodologies for assessments of the likely significant environmental effects to be reported in the Environmental Statement.’
Tina Quadrino, chair of the Maidenhead Great Park campaign group, says:
“This planning document confirms many of our fears about the environmental destruction planned for this vital area of publicly owned open space in our town.
“But it also down-plays the ecological value of the land, for example by not acknowledging how much of the land is woodland. Twenty-two hectares of the 55 hectare site is woodland, of which two hectares is Ancient Woodland. And the council has refused to put Tree Protection Orders on any of the trees.
“As well as damaging our ecological environment, this assessment also makes it clear that the people of Maidenhead will effectively be living in a massive building site for the next 10 to 15 years, with significantly increased construction traffic, and the air, noise and light pollution this brings with it.
“The Air Quality components of the Scoping Opinion Request document are weak and should be improved significantly. The report proposes using published RBWM air pollution data, but RBWM collects PM10 particulates data from just one monitoring site. There’s no PM2.5 particulates data at all. And other atmospheric pollutants such as Ozone and Sulphur Dioxide, for which there are National Air Quality Objectives, are ignored all together.
“The document also reminds us that our council, as both landowner and planning authority, will to a large extent be marking their own homework when it comes to the planning application for this site.
“As well as being concerned about the permanent loss of woodland of high ecological value, the threats to protected species, increased air pollution, increases in traffic both during the construction phase and operational phase of the development, the loss of open space, we are also very concerned about the loss of water storage, increased pressure on water supplies, increased run-off from the concreting over of greenspace and increased pressure on our already stretched local health services.
“We are also upset about the loss of this large area of publicly owned woodlands and greenspace as as place for amenity and physical and mental health and wellbeing.
“Tens of thousands more people will be living in flats in our town centre by 2033, and they need access to more parks. Our town’s provision of park land is being further eroded by plans to move the football ground to Braywick.
“We will be asking questions about these threats to our community’s health at the next Full Council meeting on Tuesday 22 November, when our petition calling for better monitoring of air pollution in the Borough will be debated.
“At 6 pm, ahead of that meeting we are planning another demonstration outside Maidenhead Town Hall calling for our woodlands and greenspace to be protected, as the loss of these trees and spaces will make air pollution in our town much worse.
“We hope that many hundreds of local people will join us, as it’s vital to demonstrate just how high feelings are running in response to the significant loss of green space that is planned in our town.”
EIA Scoping Document
To see the Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Opinion document on the RBWM planning portal, click here: https://publicaccess.rbwm.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=RJ62PCNI0C000
Our next demonstration
For information about our next demonstration on 22 November, go to https://maidenheadgreatpark.co.uk/air-pollution-petition-to-be-debated-at-22-november-rbwm-council-meeting
Golf course ecology surveys
For more information about wildlife on the golf course, go to https://maidenheadgreatpark.co.uk/ecology-reports-show-biodiversity-importance-of-maidenhead-golf-course-woodlands
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