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A mechanincal digger at the site |
Polluted meadow fears as diggers find bomb debris
Contaminated soil may be reason why trees refuse to grow on land
A PUBLIC meadow in Regent’s Park threatened by private development may be polluted, a spokesman for Royal Parks Agency has claimed.
AOC Archaeology, a Twickenham-based firm hired by Royal Parks to excavate a four-acre plot at the north side of the park, began digging on Tuesday.
The team were asked to check the site in advance of a planning application from Royal Parks and Westminster Council.
The application is to demolish the Regent’s Park Tennis and Golf School, axe more than 60 trees and build ten five-a-side football pitches, a bar and a car park.
Royal Parks Agency claim that after two days archaeologists discovered layers of charred glass and bricks beneath the surface left over from when the building was bombed in 1943 during the Blitz.
The contaminated soil explains why no new trees have grown in the area, according to a Royal Parks spokesman. The claims could undermine a heavyweight campaign including Baron Claus Moser, Geoffrey Robertson, QC and 1,200 members of the Friends of Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill. They say a proper scientific investigation would take longer than 24 hours claiming the land is a sanctuary for tawny owls, with flourishing trees, shrubs and blackberry bushes.
A spokesman for Royal Parks said: “The archaeological test trenches revealed what we expected all along.
“The truth is that very close to the surface is a lot of rubble and debris – charred bricks and melted glass – that goes back to when Holford House was bombed during the blitz.
“That is why there are no new trees there – they cannot grow.”
But Malcolm Kafetz, chairman of the Friends of Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, said: “This is typical of what I have had to put up with for last three years.
“The site is a breeding ground for tawny owls. It is a feeding ground for bats. Blackberries grew there in huge quantities.”
He added: “These people just want to make money selling booze.”
The closing date for the appeal is March 1.
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