For the Land at Wilmer Place N.16

Objection to Planning Application 2012/2228 for the Land at Wilmer Place N.16

Dear Sir,

I have been using Abney Park Cemetery for many years as a dog walker, a biologist and as a refuge. It is special and I believe it to be unique.

I first came to Abney to revise for my A levels in 1975. It was a quiet green space filled with bird song and the gentle murmur of the trees in the soft air currents. It hasn’t changed in any fundamental way since then. The paths are wider and it is better maintained. It is still far more quiet then the majority of country parks that I have been to when I was still able to do such things. On a Sunday morning, early, it is almost deserted and the whole site seems to have been wrapped in a time bubble and transported back to an era before cars, mobile phones and everything else that makes a noise and demands attention. It is special.

It is also unique. It is an area that has never been developed, never been cultivated, never had chemicals introduced to it beyond the chemicals and elements involved in burials. They will have left the ground rich in lead (the coffin linings), arsenic and mercury (embalming fluid). The wood put into the ground will eventually be broken down by the fungus in the ground. So contaminated soil, but that doesn’t matter the ecology of Abney. All that grows and lives there copes well.

What makes it so special is, in part, due to its location. It is an inner city nature reserve, and they are very few. The climate is warmer in winter from the effect of the London buildings throwing out heat. That few degrees make a difference.

It is the difference, in a cold winter, between a small bird making it through the coldest nights, or not. So Abney is an important shelter for local birds beyond its boundaries. It supports far more birds then the footprint would suggest it should as the birds are fed on feeders by interested people all round the perimeter and sometimes the blocks beyond that (great spotted woodpeckers can go several blocks from the boundary to feed). The ivy and dense foliage give cover from snow and frost, nooks to get out of a cold wind. Come the spring and the birds disperse, filing territorial gaps in the surrounding area.

It is the difference between insects hibernating successfully or not. Butterflies can come out of hibernation if the sun shines for a few days, in Abney there is food (late buddlia flowers etc) to allow them to gain sufficient sustenance that they can drop back into hibernation when it then gets colder again. It the temperature dropped down further at night this is would be more difficult. 2

It is the difference in the fungal population between a usual range of growth and an exotic range of growth. Where I began revising for A levels in Abney, I continued revising through my Biology degree (gaining a B Sc Hons in Biology at U.C.L.) and have found a lasting interest in fungi and slime molds. I am an enthusiastic amateur rather then a professional, there are very few professional mycologists, and the number of species is fascinating. There are no Russulas, which is unheard of. But it is probably the world centre for some other species. Pluteus aurantiorugosus is a bright orange cap and it is very rare everywhere, apart from Abney. In Abney it is almost commonplace. This is growing at the moment…

Pluteus aurantiorugosus, 13.8.2012 Abney

OK, so it is only a little orange cap which almost glows in the dark. But it is special for it to be here in such numbers. Most mycologists go through their lives feeling lucky to have seen it on a couple of occasions, it has grown here a dozen times in a dozen locations so far this year.

Psathyrellas are another group of mushrooms that grow abundantly and some of them are very rare, in particular inkcaps, one section of Psathyrellas. They are a fascinating group and tricky to identify. The books on identification are not always to be trusted in this area, as the presentation of each growth can be quite different, and not measure up to the species norm as given in the books. I am slowly understanding more about them, but it is slow progress. 3

Coprinellus truncorum, and unusual inkcap.

Rhodocybe gemina, an example of a red data list species that grows in Abney each year, inside the shaded area produced by the new development.

So what is the importance of fungi and slime molds? The trees in Abney are fighting off diseases better then anywhere else in Hackney and possibly beyond that. Each disease that comes in is having to compete with the large numbers of different fungi that can effect the trees, and the diseases are not having an easy time of it. So far I have recorded or been informed by experts about 297 fungi and slime molds in Abney Park. I am not an expert. I do have a microscope which allows getting the information possible on perfect specimens, but perfect specimens are rare due to the flourishing slug and snail population, and the squirrels who dice with not feeling so good to eat the gills and discard the rest (a behaviour only seen in Abney). I am also hampered by such strange and unusual tiny species being found that they don’t appear in books. There are thousands of species of fungi, only a section of them can ever get into the available books to allow them to be commercially viable. Many hundreds of pounds (in money) for encyclopaedias giving the identification of rare species that are likely not to be found in a lifetime of looking, are not going to sell very well. If anyone did actually put such books together, and if everyone lived next to Abney Park, there would be a lot more of these volumes sold. Between my slow learning process and the lack of reference literature, I fail to identify far more species then I can identify. The species numbers should be at least a hundred higher then they are. 4

The fungi are another group benefiting from the warmer winters. Cold penetrates the ground, but during winter in Abney it is less cold and the ground is sheltered. One example of this is Hygrocybe virginea, Snowy Waxcap.

Hygrocybe virginea, Snowy Wax Cap, 8.11.2012 Abney.

It grows in grassland and open woodland everywhere in the UK apart from Abney, where it grows under a cover if ivy leaves, as it does in the south of France. It probably happens due to the over wintering temperature being just that bit higher. If that is true it won’t happen much longer. It is in the area below the morning shadow of the proposed buildings in Wilmer Place. The lack of morning sun will cut the warming in Abney dramatically and cause a cold area. No amount of urban heat loss can counter the effects of a shade patch. I have indicated the area where this happens with a cloud over the section of map…..

The consequence of the temperature fall in the shaded areas in the winter is going to be across the whole range of species within the shade. The area that has the most morning sun now is the area where there will be most shade. There are now developments all round Abney but none are blocking the sun in the same way and none are so high. None will have the same impact. Even extra shade for an hour a day can make a difference. 5

Every change that could be made by the new development is detrimental to the environment within Abney.

1. The ground floor plant machinery, that will run along the western side of Wilmer Place in the new Sainsbury’s, will create noise (a low hum at best) and possibly discharge foul gaseous waste into Abney. I have been in a friend’s garden and sat through his neighbour’s central heating vent pipe’s emissions. This was unpleasant and brought me out of his garden quickly. That was one house. This is an enormous shop. 2. The over shading and reduction in temperature. 3. The sounds of all those families just going about their business intruding into the natural quiet. 4. The overlooking. 5. The noise and dust and vibrations of the tools and the intrusive lighting early and late in the winter. Any building site is hard to live next to and this build is proposed to be 18 months, and have you ever known builders finish on time?

They make great claims in their plans. A couple of examples are …. They will ‘complete the circle of development round Abney Park Cemetery’ as if it is a good thing when there is no need for such completion. They will ‘improve the biodiversity of Wilmer Place’, not hard with a car park covered with tarmac, and done to the detriment of Abney.

What the developers haven’t done is to really look at the nature reserve and assess how the development will affect Abney. I have included a few notes on some species that should have been taken into consideration. There are Tawny Owls breeding, not a nationally notifiable species but much loved. What are nationally notifiable are the White Letter Hairstreak Butterflies, the Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus) and the bats. Natural England suggests that notifiable species within 2 kilometers should be assessed. Abney is not that big, just looking at Abney would do. It has not been done. Taking a short look at them here……..

Tawny Owls

Tawny Owl Chick March 2012. 6

Tawny owls nest in Abney in Hybrid Black Poplars, and have done so on either side of ‘New Road’. This is not that far from Wilmer Place. They are of a sanguine nature, fairly tolerant of day time disturbances. But they do need to hunt at night. Lights, illuminating a building site so close to their breeding area, are a severe test of their tolerance. When that lighting is above the canopy layer, as this proposed development would be, and combined with the noise, bustle and vibrations of a building site, the effects could drive the birds to leave Abney.

They have nested in their present area for a long time. There are no other Tawny Owls in the area. At the moment the young birds travel out of the area to find new territories as no other suitable breeding territories are available locally. If these owls should go there is no other local owl population to re-colonise Abney.

Although not a scarce or nationally notable species it would be a shame to lose the birds. They are one of the target species accepted for Abney and methods have been considered for increasing the number of birds in the area. Visitors to Abney have been delighted to find Owls on the occasions that they have been visible. Their loss would leave the area just that little bit poorer, and Abney a bit less special.

The 2 recent breeding sites of the Tawny Owls are marked with a circle in the below map, (the oval is Wilmer Place)…………. 7

UK BAP Species: White Letter Hairstreak Butterfly.

White Letter Hairstreak butterfly, photograph 23.3.2012 Abney.

This species is a priority species under BAP. Any change to its habitat needs full assessment prior to that change. Such assessment has not happened. Natural England recommends that an area up to 2 kilometres round a new development should be assessed is any of the notable BAP species be present. The UK signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992. As a result we produced the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) was published in 1994. Of the notable species on the list 3 are found in Abney Park Cemetery.

1. The Stag Beetle, Lucanus cervus. 2. The White Letter Hairstreak Butterfly, Strymonidiaw-album. 3. Bats, all bats are included.

The White Letter Butterfly grows as a caterpillar feeding exclusively on elm trees, of which there are not that many remaining in the country. There are some in Abney Park Cemetery. The butterflies are typically seen flitting about in the tops of the trees and then come down from the tree tops in the morning to feed on the ground level flowers. They seem sensitive to weather and are slow to feed on cold days. 8

Map showing the breeding and feeding areas for the White Letter Hairstreak Butterfly.

The pattern of shade that would run across Abney from the new development suggested for Wilmer Place, (oval on the map), has shade directly over the area the butterflies feed on in the morning (the circle east of Wilmer Place). While the tree tops of their elm, east of the chapel, may be in sun relatively early as the shadow moves round, the ground level flowers will take longer to warm up and the shadow directly east of Wilmer Place will last all morning. Early feeding needs early sun. It really needs an expert to assess the impact of this. I am enclosing the two sheets Natural England sent me about the planning process. 9

Bats also on the BAP List. There are bats in Abney. What species I don’t know. I have seen them apparently coming out from a small grill under the war memorial and others have seen them possibly coming from the chapel, maybe the room at the base of the spire. They can chose to live in hollow trees and there are some hollow trees on the boundary trees along the western edge of Wilmer Place. Their presence has not been checked although these trees are going to die due to the new development. (See report Objection to the proposed Wilmer Place, Stoke Newington, August 2012, with

Pipistrelle Bat. (photo from internet) reference to the boundary trees, it is at the back of the folder). How bats will respond to having window lights over the level of the trees is an unknown. Bats are a UK BAP species like the White Letter Hairstreak. An assessment should be made before planning permission is granted.

Moths and bugs are attracted to lights. There are going to be a lot of windows overlooking Abney. Even the developers talk about the views over the trees. Windows have lights, and the further up, with the lower chance of anyone looking in, the less importance tends to be placed on shutting curtains or closing blinds when it is dark outside.

Left is Black and Yellow Longhorn Beetle, (Ruptela maculate), a sometimes seen beetle. This is an example of a daytime bug, as after dark bugs are hard to photograph. 30.7.2012 Abney. 10

Recognition of the interference of light to insects is now world wide. A Chinese report about light pollution states that ‘artificial lighting also seriously affects nature. Scientists have discovered that even a weak advertising light can kill 350,000 insects a year.’

Abney is full of moths and bugs at night. Room lighting above the tree line and possibly lighting of the walkways around the new development are going to alter the lighting patterns within Abney. These small creatures are the food for the bats and the birds. The whole food chain is based in the health of the lower levels of the chain.

Abney has already lost species through development close to it. Collison Place, to the north of Abney, was next to an area colonised by Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. When this building was built the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers vanished. Along Bouverie Road Selcraig House was built, and then St. Anne’s Convent in Manor Road. As they were built the colony of Tree Creepers vanished. Coincidence?

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos minor. (Photo from internet). This is a small bird, 14 cms long, the same length as a House Sparrow. 11

Tree Creeper, Certhia familiaris. (Photo from internet). Even smaller then the above bird at 12.5 cms long. It gets its name from searching tree trunks for insects by flying into trees at the base and running up the trunks, then flying to the base of the next tree. In movement it looks from a distance like a mouse.

The below satellite photograph below shows the areas next to the new buildings where the lost bird colonies were. 12

The difference from having so many apartments so close to the cemetery is another thing entirely. Abney Park is still used as a cemetery. Although new graves are not available, old graves are still owned by families who wish to add another family member to a particular grave. They are sold for example for 6 occupants, and maybe only 4 have been interred there. Another two may yet be added. Imagine a funeral leaving from the front gates while a children’s party is in full flow unseen on the first floor of the development, or maybe someone is sunbathing on the terrace with music blasting out. There are going to be 5 floors of apartments if this proposal gets planning permission. That’s a lot of people, and probably a lot of children. Many of the incoming families around here have young families and the occupants of these apartments will probably be from the same demographic. Young people and children make a lot of noise. A walk through other flats in hot weather has all kinds of music issuing from windows, each beat interfering with the next in the crossover zone. This is not appropriate for a cemetery.

Relatives visiting a family grave, and finding a resident of the apartments looking down at them from a balcony, out for a quick smoke…. it just doesn’t feel right. This is an intensely private time for many people. One example of the need for such quiet is a woman deeply upset by the nursery children playing as if they were in a park. Her need to chat and re-find her peace of mind was been overwhelming. Now imagine her walking in through the front entrance below a flat with rap music playing…..

I recently met a man in a wheel chair who had lost his legs and memory in a car crash. His daughter died before the crash. He was trying to recapture memories of his daughter, buried in Abney. Even if it didn’t work at the time, the quiet was vital. (I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing this here).

I too share this distrust of the proposed apartments. I have M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyalitis). I can get only as far as I can walk, which isn’t far and normally only in the morning. I only live a few minutes from the side gate of Abney Park. The green space and the quiet are invaluable to me, and there are many others like me. The morning sun is almost magical. I am frequently in Abney from 7.30am, making the most of the best time of my day. By mid morning I am slowing down and by lunch time I usually have to stop. Occasionally the pattern changes, usually the change is to do less. Should the development go ahead, most of my visits will find the shadow at its longest.

The presence of such a safe, rich and quiet environment is utterly unique. It is essential to preserve this uniqueness, this quiet, this green environment. 13

In summary….

1. It will make the east of Abney overlooked and overshadowed. 2. The noise and disruption of the building process will be difficult for people and wildlife. 3. The continuing habitation of the apartments will alter lighting patterns and affect the privacy and environment for the cemetery when used as a cemetery. 4. The overshadowing will change the temperature especially over winter, detrimentally changing conditions for many plants and creatures. 5. The fumes and noise from the plant machinery along the ground floor of the new development will be unpleasant. 6. The damage to the trees has not been included in the planning application and should be looked at. 7. The environmental studies about how it will affect Abney have not been done.

Please do not grant planning consent for this development.

I do apologise that this is so long. There just seems so much to say.

I do hope that all this will be taken into consideration.