Environment and Leisure Committee Report

by Cllr. Rex Osborn

Importance of Bees to Local Ecosystems

We had a report to committee looking at the alarming fall in the UK’s bee population and the implications for varieties of bee peculiar to the Wandsworth area. There is growing recognition that a reduction in the bee population is a serious threat to our environment posing dangers for agriculture, horticulture and industry - honey and wax.

This report looked at what Wandsworth, with its unusually large inner city green spaces, can do to help the bee population recover. The Council parks and allotments team will seek to increase beehives in the borough. Rex Osborn, the Labour speaker on the committee asked officers to prepare a feasibility study for the planting of dramatically large quantities of lavender, a plant favoured by bees, in Lavender Hill, on public and private land. This scheme would be aimed at sustainable support for bees, creating a local feature with tourism potential and reinforcing Lavender Hill’s links with its historic lavender industry (for example bees decorate the Battersea Arts Centre).

Wandsworth Ban on use of Non-Domestic Animals in Circuses

The committee heard representations from organisations for and against this ban. It became clear that the term non-domesticated is a bit clumsy and that exotic animals might be a better term. Nevertheless such an important issue demands action and the committee went along with the terminology.

I, along with other members of committee argued that circuses may once perhaps have provided the public with a degree of informed insight into the nature of animals, that they would otherwise never have seen. But I also noted how in this age of sophisticated zoos and high quality, informative, compassionate media (e.g. Life on Earth), it is no longer appropriate for such animals to be paraded around circuses in an undignified manner. The ban was supported unanimously.

Annual Report of the Energy Management Team

The Council is now coming up to speed on its preparations for the forthcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme and has successfully pursued an application for the Standard which is promoted by the Carbon Trust. Both developments have been pursued by Labour’s environment speakers in full council meetings and a glance at the minutes of these will show how initially unenthusiastic Wandsworth was about both schemes. Happily Labour’s pressure has borne fruit and the borough has gotten in line with other local authorities.

Tooting Library - Opening Hours

Opening hours at the newly refurbished Tooting Library will be reviewed as the library re-opens. I have argued for some time that 7 day opening in, at least, the town centre libraries across Wandsworth is not just desirable but possible. Battersea library has achieved 7 day opening, in part, through trimming slightly the opening and closing times. Now new technology is being rolled out across Wandsworth libraries, which saves many hours of staff time. Surely a combination of these factors must make more days of opening possible. Labour is keeping a close eye on this review.