WE CALL UPON HS2 AND EKFB TO PROTECT THE REMAINING OAKS AND BAT CORRIDOR IN LEATHER LANE BY IMPLEMENTING A GREEN CORRIDOR OVER THE TRACK AND RE-ROUTING THE OVER-ROAD TO THE NORTHERN SIDE
Since starting this campaign to Save Leather Lane Oaks, the Leather Lane team have been fighting for every mammal, plant, tree and bug in the lane. So far, our campaign has successfully managed to stop HS2 from felling the entire row of 99 oaks on the Southern side of the lane, and if we are successful in our campaign to re-route the over-road to the North, we will save 87 out of 99 trees, and the magnificent Lone Oak that stands proudly at the top of the hill, looking down on them all!!! Not to mention the biodiversity including red kites, tawny owls, badgers, all creatures great and small that make up this irreplaceable Eco System.
Leather Lane is an ancient Holloway which used to be lined with 99 oak trees which provides a vital bat corridor that provides connectivity and foraging across 7km of Chilterns landscape. It provides refuge to at least 7 species of bat including the endangered Barbastelle bat which has been recorded as regularly using this corridor. We estimate that 87 trees are left on the Southern Side after felling for the haul road in March and track trace last week.
The current plans for the over-road are for the Southern Side, which is where the all the Oak Trees and vital Ecology lie. We are therefore campaigning to get the over-road routed to the Northern side to protect the Oaks and therefore all the Ecology and bat corridor.
The UK's top bat expert, John Altringham, has confirmed the importance of maintaining Leather Lane as a bat corridor, not just as connectivity, but as a habitat in its own right.
The ‘Save Leather Lane team’ have been in ongoing dialogue with HS2's Sub Contractor EKFB to ensure that this Corridor is protected and the Precautionary Principle applied - that means mitigation for the felled trees at the track trace, as well as diverting the planned over-road realignment of Leather Lane from the Southern side to the Northern; to avoid felling all the oaks on the Southern side and therefore protecting all the Ecology and bat corridor.
We have engaged a local engineer who has come up with a draft design and we have the support of local councillors, residents, ecologists and interest groups to protect the ancient Holloway and bat corridor. We expect to have a meeting with EKFB, HS2 and Bucks Council any day now and continue to press for a commitment to Ecological principles to protect endangered species such as the Barbastelle bat that uses this corridor, along with all irreplaceable biodiversity that calls Leather Lane.
We have continued to monitor bat activity over the track trace cutting; noting any changes in bat foraging and commuting activity, as well as the number and species. So far the recorded observations and data have shown that bats, including barbastelle, are still crossing over the trace track cutting, although the numbers have decreased and they are flying at dangerously lower heights; following the lower flight line of the road surface itself. However, the most interesting data was that recorded at the trees further down the lane; exactly where they wish to fell trees if the plans for the over-road on the 'Southern Side' of the lane go ahead. Several different species were recorded here and the bat flight activity was three times as much as at the train track trace, (1,800 recordings over 4 nights!!!!!) which shows how vitally important it is that we protect those trees.
This data has been reviewed by a professional ecologist, providing a written report, with analysis and comparisons of any changes in bat foraging and flight habits/ patterns compared to our last report from data collected in May and June, as part of our continued campaign for HS2 to re-route the over-road to the Northern side of Leather Lane and to provide permanent mitigation for the vital commuting corridor needed in the form of a green bridge crossing for the bats.
We will share his latest report in due course and expect to have a meeting in the coming days or weeks. In the meantime we need to keep engaging, monitoring bat activity to analyse and applying scrutiny and public pressure.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT LEATHER LANE!
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read our full research report here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OSLbTH0wNbyCxXY-6ezgXhxRLVrTBrMs/view
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