Islington Council are proposing to clear part of the woodland in Wray Park Open Space, to create an equipment storage area that without specifying what is to be stored there or consideration of other spaces that could be used without cutting down established trees and shrubs.

Wray Park Open Space is less than a 5 minute walk from The Banksy on Hornsey Road that depicts a tree. There has been a lot of energy put into protecting both the tree that stands infront of the artwork and Banksy’s work itself. According to James Peak, creator of BBC Radio 4 series The Banksy Story: ‘The message is clear. Nature’s struggling and it is up to us to help it grow back.’ 

Trees help fight climate change, save wildlife and improve our health. We all need trees. According to the Woodland Trust “

Trees are our lungs. Trees are our guardians. Trees are our health service and wildlife champions.

We desperately need trees, yet after centuries of damage and deforestation, just 13% of our land area is forested.

This has to change, and it has to change now. The UK must plant 1.5 million hectares of additional woodland by 2050 to meet its carbon neutral target - if we miss that target, the impact could be irreversible.” They list some of the benefits of trees; Climate change, wildlife loss and pollution are very real threats and are already affecting the UK. Trees are part of the solution – a wildlife super habitat and climate superhero that can help us to save nature, people and our planet.

Islington Council has erected a sign on our local Andover Estate, just a few minutes walk from the Park. The sign says “These mature trees have been vandalised by dogs and will now die. The trees here took over 30 years to grow and it will be decades before any newly planted tree grows to replace these trees. The condition and appearance of your estate, your surroundings and your home has been damaged by mindless vandals. If you witness anyone damaging trees anywhere please record as many details about who is doing it and report it to the police, community support officers or your housing officers. Any information you give will be treated in the strictest confidence and there will be cash rewards for information leading to prosecution.”
We the undersigned oppose this unnecessary loss of nature, and call on the council to come up with a better plan.

Islington have released an updated planning proposal P/2024/0369/FUL this updated version still has the tree loss as the previous version did. The change includes plans to make the building more accessible.