Green spaces & blue streams

The natural environment is key to public health

WHAT WE'VE DONE

• Challenged the Council to use its powers to block plans to build a 10-storey tennis stadium and over 9km of roads on parts of Wimbledon Park - a scheme which also involves destroying 300 mature trees, the habitat of birds & bats on Metropolitan Open Land and endangered European Eels in the lake.
• Called for the Council’s Climate Action Plan to include both tree and biodiversity strategies – voted down by Labour.
• Ensured the pot of money councillors are allocated for small projects in their area can be spent on tree planting.
• Lib Dems in Parliament tried to ban the dumping of sewage into local rivers by water companies.

WHAT WE'LL DO

• Enforce the legal guarantees given by the AELTC to preserve Wimbledon Park.
• Work with the AELTC, Friends of Wimbledon Park, the Capability Brown Society & residents’ groups to reach a compromise on the All England Club’s plans.
• Put robust tree & biodiversity strategies in the Council’s Climate Action Plan.
• Look at putting public open space into trust, to give the community a real say over the use of land and provide more protection.
• Encourage the Council’s parks contractor, idverde to work more closely with Friends’ groups for parks.
• Consider all options in any review of the parks’ contract, including bringing the service back in-house.