Barnet Labour promise biodiversity officer if elected on May 5

At the Barnet Environmental Hustings tonight, Barnet Labour vowed if elected on May 5 to employ a full-time biodiversity officer and declare an immediate climate emergency. Both these promises are crucial to eco-future of Brent Reservoir (Welsh Harp). The Conservatives offer neither.

Cool Oak’s question regarding the damage that will be done by the impending footbridge across the north marsh was also included in the debate. Dan Thomas for the Conservatives said the bridge would bring biodiversity gain. The opposite is true. The wetlands will be cut in half, remaining breeding species will lose seclusion and will move on, human activity will drive away wildlife, and lagoons and islands built with public money in the 1980s will never recover.

The bridge needs a major rethink. For more on this issue, see our 2021 report.