The woodland nature reserve in Chalk Farm as it is now

• HS2’s contractor has just started work at Chalk Farm embankment for a vast blockhouse in the woodland nature reserve to ventilate HS2’s tunnels.

Readers may be unaware that the woodland even exists in Camden. It’s the green backdrop to Primrose Hill’s tourist route.

Its sad transformation into a building site may be mitigated by legal hurdles limiting “vegetation clearance”. But tree felling began in 2019 when Network Rail removed the roadside trees before handing the site to HS2.

To legitimise such vandalism, Network Rail claimed that Camden requested this felling (denied by Camden) – but Network Rail successfully avoided Camden tree panel scrutiny, thereby simplifying the contractor’s impending demolition of the Edwardian woodland wall.

Remaining woodland showing HS2’s site clearance

Regarding remaining trees, HS2 artfully call the site “shrubland”, that is, without trees.

While HS2’s Camden local environmental management plan (LEMP) wrongly says “secondary sycamore woodland”, sycamores being invasive weeds.

Such HS2 lawyer-driven, desk-based, survey confusion has dogged HS2 causing massive cost over-runs. But here survey access is prevented by impenetrable undergrowth from railway neglect.

I can, however, reveal that the woodland isn’t sycamore but ash and, magically, east of HS2’s proposed building, is one enormous ash tree with five trunks, the largest 2ft 6ins across. And an oak tree… hardly “shrubland”.

Also the contractor’s published justification for replacing woodland with grass, the adjacent “live railway”, is incorrect. It is actually disused and overgrown. So even the railway survey was wrong.

But future nature reserve management is key. It must not be neglected for another century but managed as part of Camden’s beautiful Adelaide Nature Reserve next door.

The barbary bug, rediscovered 20 years ago

It is all one Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. But no consultation has occurred. When this happens, the woodland can continue as Camden’s wildlife reservoir and maybe, the barbary bug (above), rediscovered 20 years ago, will return.

JEFF TRAVERS
Chair of Adelaide Community Garden Club