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12 Feb 2004 - 31 Dec 2004 Work to start on Richmond car park Richmond Park Work on a 95 space car park in the centre of Richmond Park's endangered 250 acre zone of acid grassland will begin early this March with a planned completion date in late April 2004. The new car park design, which includes 11 dedicated disabled parking bays, will replace the existing Pen Ponds car park and will allow for a major restoration of important surrounding acid grassland. This grassland is a priority habitat in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan and supports a unique ecology dating back to the medieval period. Work on the new Pen Ponds car park was originally scheduled to start on 1st September 2003 and finish in 20th October 2003 but a delay by Richmond Council in giving planning permission has unavoidably forced back the schedule. When completed the car park will be able to accommodate day-to-day demand for parking and at busy times, such as Bank Holidays, the car park will be monitored to manage the available space. During the remodelling of the car park, its visual intrusion into the beautiful surrounding area will be reduced via re-landscaping. Paths and routes for walkers will also be enhanced. Signage and interpretation will be improved, letting visitors learn more the special qualities of the site and the impact they, inadvertently, have on it. Dr Nigel Reeve, Community Ecologist for The Royal Parks said, 'This work really is vital if damage to the grassland is to be checked and habitats and species given a chance to recover. It would a tragedy for everybody if this precious and historic ecology deteriorated any further.' Several birds found in the area around Pen Ponds are on the national Red (seriously threatened) or Amber (declining) lists, including skylark (which as a ground nesting bird is particularly vulnerable to inquisitive dogs), reed bunting, meadow pipits, starlings, green woodpeckers and kestrels. The Park is also home to 162 Red Data Book or Notable invertebrate species. The brown hare and the grey partridge (a ground nester like the skylark) have recently disappeared from the Park. In 1996 a review by Dame Jennifer Jenkins asked The Royal Parks to address the Pen Ponds car park and its impact on the surrounding landscape and ecology. The Royal Parks, concerned to protect the surrounding acid grassland and its wildlife from serious damage and disturbance caused by huge numbers of visitors, had initially proposed to close the Pen Ponds car park. However, following extensive public consultation The Royal Parks decided that it would keep the car park open, particularly for those with young families or elderly relatives and people with limited mobility, although the number of spaces had to be brought down to reduce the impact of concentrated numbers of visitors. - ENDS - Source: The Royal Parks The Royal Parks Press Office, T: 0300 061 2128 E: press@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk Editor's notes: On 6th February 2004 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister granted permission for the work to begin. Pen Ponds Car Park currently has 280 spaces, with no disabled spaces. Origin & destination surveys have shown that of the 2,500-3,800 vehicles entering the Park each hour at peak times, 96-98% was through traffic. Even at weekends through traffic accounted for 80% of all vehicles. Lowland acid grassland is a priority habitat in the Government's UK Biodiversity Action Plan, and Richmond Park has the best and largest area of such grassland it in Greater London, centred on Pen Ponds. Richmond Park is London's largest Site of Special Scientific Interest, a National Nature Reserve, a candidate European Special Area of Conservation and a Grade 1 Listed landscape. Species records for the Park include 49 grasses, rush and sedges; over 250 fungi; more than 1000 beetles; 546 butterflies and moths; 139 spiders; 144 birds; and 25 mammals. Richmond Park covers 2,358 acres and is Europe's largest urban walled park (the wall is 8 miles long). Its origins as a place for royal deer hunting go back to Edward I (1272-1307) and it still retains a 650+ herd of deer (Red & Fallow). The continuous grazing by the deer has shaped the park's habitats, maintaining stunning views over rolling grasslands and majestic parkland trees. The other Royal Parks are: Bushy Park, Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park (with Primrose Hill) and St James's Park. |
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