As our loyal followers will know, we last met with HS2’s contractor EKFB in May 2022 where we presented our workable design which would save all the remaining trees of Leather Lane, preserving the precious wildlife corridor, the only east-west connectivity for 7 kilometres in an area ravaged by HS2. We also shared our bat data with Bucks Council, demonstrating the presence of 8 of the 17 UK species of bats on Leather Lane, including the endangered barbastelle. Importantly, the data also suggested that Leather Lane is a juvenile sustenance zone, indicating the close proximity of the lane to bat maternity roosts, potentially elevating the status of the lane even higher. 

The months have ticket by with no news, no bat reports from HS2, and no Schedule 17 application where HS2 would be required to submit their plans to Bucks Council for approval.

We have recently heard that EKFB are to be replaced as HS2’s contractor for the Leather Lane area by Align. It has also been suggested that there are redesigned plans for Leather Lane to take into account the importance of Leather Lane as a wildlife corridor, with particular reference by HS2 to the presence of barbastelle bats at last! We see this as a positive development and look forward to Align’s plans being shared with us and Bucks Council, and a meeting with Align to discuss them.
Rest assured we will ensure the voices of our local environment and wildlife are heard and taken into account.

We continue to collect bat data on the lane and monitor the local wildlife. We are grateful to our ecologists Bioscan for working with us to produce the reports which show decisively how valuable the lane is to our local bat species.

We loved introducing our bats to local families on our last bat walk.

As the evenings get darker earlier our most recent bat walk was a wonderful opportunity for local children and their families to meet our fantastic bats. Feedback from one of the children:
“It was really fun and everybody should do it. You see loads of bats!”

See some footage for yourselves; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OmG5uprAts 

Our Green Bridge and post-construction proposals:

We are grateful for the support of the Chiltern Society and BBOWT for our campaign for a green overbridge (where the new lane crosses over the HS2 tracks), with planting, to reconnect the wildlife corridor and encourage wildlife and bats to continue to commute and forage along the lane.

The green bridge is justified by the report on our bat data which you can read here. The report shows that the lane is a site of regional importance, and probably a juvenile sustenance zone, near to a maternity roost. This was not recognised in the HS2 Environmental Statement. 

We are also asking for a commitment from HS2 with regards the disused parts of the current Leather Lane - we are asking them to consider setting up Leather Lane as a bat SAC (Special Area of Conservation) - accessible to local community groups  - which would help HS2 to meet it’s commitment to protecting biodiversity. For more information see here: https://saveleatherlane-wp.org.uk/next-steps?mc_cid=699ca55ab9&mc_eid=f08976f039 

A last plea:

For several years, we have campaigned to preserve the wildlife corridor formed by a line of oak trees, planted beside Leather Lane by the Liberty family. This is now one of the last remaining East-West links across the HS2 route, and so heavily used by wildlife, particularly bats. The HS2 design specifies a new bridge, to be constructed on the south side of the lane, which would pass through the tree corridor twice. 
So far, the Campaign has
Paid a Consultant Engineer to design a bridge to the North side of the lane, which allows all the remaining 87 trees to be preserved.
Raised over £25,000 (by a crowdfunder) to pay for this.
Held a meeting with EKFB (the HS2 contractors) and Bucks councillors, at which it was established that our bridge design meets the required specifications.
Conducted a bat survey over many nights, before and after some of the trees were felled, and paid for this to be analysed. The endangered Barbastelle bat was recorded on numerous occasions, along with 7 other species.
Drawn attention to the failure of the contractor to implement the required tree protection measures for the trees to be retained; this has now been rectified.
Gathered 43,000 signatures on a petition to save these trees.
Registered Ilona with the Ancient Tree Inventory.
Organised a letter writing campaign to Mark Thurston (former HS2 CEO) to object to the felling of the iconic Ilona the lone oak, which has resulted in Ilona remaining in the ground to date.

We continue to collect bat data, hold bat walks for local people to attend and as above, we are campaigning for a green overbridge to be part of the design.

Engineers and Ecologists are not cheap!  

Please contribute to our Crowdfunder, and help us bring our mission to save Leather Lane to a successful conclusion.