A South London football club is to be summoned to an urgent meeting with the local council after reportedly felling trees without permission. Residents visiting Morden Park were horrified to discover a large pile of felled trees next to the area where Motspur Park FC trains and plays its matches early this week.
Merton Council owns the park but has an agreement with the club over its use, which includes some degree of management of the area where they play. However the council says while it was aware of a plan to install a changing block in the park, it did not authorise the removal of trees and said it will call an urgent meeting with the club and discuss ‘appropriate mediation’.
The park is home to hundreds of at-risk species of flora and fauna as a site of importance for nature conservation. The Friends of Morden Park, who safeguard the park’s biodiversity, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) of their ‘shock’ at discovering the felled trees. They said they had not been consulted about the tree felling, as was the standard practice when any changes to the park were concerned.
Local nature enthusiast and Morden Park regular Simon Wicks also told the LDRS: “You just can’t go cutting down trees. Access to green space is becoming important and we are increasingly aware of the benefits to mental and physical health they have. We are also aware of the extent to which nature is being depleted all over England and the importance of having these green oases among our living areas.
“Morden Park is astonishingly rich naturally, and I don’t think people realise how rich it is. For example, half of the UK’s butterfly species have been identified within the park. It is choc-a-block with butterflies and insects.
“So any damage to habitat is going to have a consequence. Even though you may say ‘it’s just a few trees’, if the potential damage hasn’t been properly assessed or official permission is not given, then we could be looking at something that will be damaging to the local nature.”
Following the discovery, Lib Dem councillor and Friends of Morden Park committee member Jenifer Gould contacted the Director of Environment and Green Spaces team in Merton Council but claims they failed to respond. Gould raised the issue and wider concerns about Merton’s protection for biodiversity during a council meeting on Wednesday night (November 20).
She asked the council to create a ‘biodiversity bank’ in an attempt to protect nature against overdevelopment in the borough. However, the Labour-led council rejected this motion, insisting their protections were already strong enough.
She told the chamber: “Nature in Merton is under threat. Last week, Morden Park lost trees and habitat in a green corridor without consultation.”
But the council has insisted it gave no such permission for the club to fell any trees. A spokesperson said: “Merton Council did not give permission to Motspur Park FC to fell trees in Morden Park. The council granted Motspur Park FC permission to clear rubbish and scrub from a small area of land and arranged the provision of skips to make sure waste was properly disposed.
“The removal of trees formed no part of that agreement. The council is now seeking an urgent meeting with Motspur Park FC management to understand how this happened.
“The trees that were removed were self-sown, but the council fully appreciates that they still offered a wider ecological value to the site, and that’s why the council will be seeking appropriate remediation from Motspur Park FC.
“Morden Park is a valued green space, and we take its protection very seriously. And we would always seek to engage local communities and the park’s Friends groups before undertaking any major works or changes to our green spaces.”
When the LDRS approached Motspur Park FC Secretary Gary Hammocks for comment on the tree felling incident, he responded by suggesting we contact the council. When we put it to him that the club had reportedly felled the trees themselves without permission, he responded with ‘no comment’.
