Wildlife is at risk due to the Royal Parks’ reckless management of the river that feeds Bushy Park and Hampton Court Palace. It is vital that they pause dredging works immediately, conduct a comprehensive environmental survey and impact assessment and put any necessary works back to a more appropriate time.

Residents and environmental groups are shocked that the Royal Parks have started dredging an environmentally important river during the most sensitive time of year.

The Longford River is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including nesting Swans, Kingfishers and there have been recent sightings of protected Water Voles. When asked about the timing, the Royal Parks explanation has been inadequate - they have simply said “These works are now overdue… we do try to schedule maintenance works earlier in the year” but they are “catching up on our maintenance programme”. Despite requests they are yet to release the environmental impact assessments.

The Royal Parks have a history of poor management of the Longford River, apparently placing a higher importance on providing the parks with water than the management of the river habitat.

Let’s be clear ‘catching up on maintenance’ should not be at the expense of wildlife. You could not get worse timing in terms of nesting birds, and impacts on wildfowl and breeding fish. Any responsible organisation would put these back until a less sensitive time.

Although the Royal Parks like to say that the river is 'man made', all evidence suggests that much of it was 'made' by diverting and combining many existing streams and watercourses on the common land of Hounslow Heath. Although it runs in concrete or steel-lined channels for some of its course, such as around Heathrow airport, other areas are far more natural. Over recent years, the Royal Parks have cut back spending on maintenance, and barely do any environmental management on the river, beyond those aimed at keeping the water flowing – following outdated thinking that seems to see the river solely as a 'drainpipe'.

Rare and protected wildlife is at risk due to these works. There are several sections of the river where Kingfishers are frequently seen. There was also a recent sighting of protected Water Voles in the section through Feltham Arenas. However, a lack of information and environmental surveys mean that the full extent of wildlife isn’t known.

The timing is during both the bird nesting season and also the fishery close season – both set so as to protect breeding birds and fish from disturbance. It is difficult to see how this approach is in line with the Royal Parks’ charitable Objects to “maintain and develop the biodiversity of the Royal Parks including the protection of their wildlife and natural environment…”,

Further information

As well as managing seven parks, the Royal Parks is also responsible for managing the Longford River, a historic watercourse that flows 12 miles from near Heathrow airport to Hampton Court Palace and the Thames beyond.
The river was created in 1638 by Charles I, diverting water from the River Colne at Longford and creating “a new streame” to provide additional water “for the better accommodation of our said house and parks and for our recreation and disport.”

Unlike many rivers that are the responsibility of the Environment Agency, the Royal Parks are solely responsible for its management. Although the land is the responsibility of the Crown, regulations around environmental management still apply, such as environmental impact assessments – but the accountability processes are less clear.

On 18th March, the Royal Parks announced that works on the Longford River would be shortly staring.
“We are delivering essential regular maintenance works along a 6-mile stretch of the Longford River to ensure the continued flow of water and to prevent local flooding. These works will be delivered in stages along a number of segments of the river. Work on the final segment will be completed on Tuesday 5 April. These are part of cyclical works undertaken roughly every 4 years along the Longford River.
Tracked excavator machines will dredge and remove excess vegetation and litter from the river channel which otherwise may block the water flow. We will retain a proportion of the vegetation as wildlife habitat where this does not restrict flow. The removed vegetation will be placed on the bank to compost naturally and will revegetate over time. We will retrieve and recycle any plastic litter where possible. The Longford River is a man-made waterway requiring maintenance to keep it flowing effectively and to prevent blockages which can cause local flooding. Ensuring the continued flow of the water will also help to maintain water quality for aquatic wildlife.”

In response to concerns about the timing they initially said:
“These works are now overdue. Where possible we do try to schedule maintenance works earlier in the year, however we are still catching up on our maintenance programme for the Longford River.”

The Royal Parks have a history of poor management practices along the river. Recent works to trees in Hampton Hill have already disturbed swans regular nesting places.
We are therefore calling on the Royal Parks to:

• pause dredging works immediately
• conduct a comprehensive environmental survey and impact assessment
• put works back to a more appropriate time
• develop a proper strategy for managing the Longford River, developed in consultation with the local community and independent environmental experts