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Friends
of Tooting Common
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The future of Chestnut Avenue: |
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Success of the Heritage Lottery Fund bid The Friends of Tooting Common (FOTC) welcome Wandsworth Councils decision to accept the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant to fund the Tooting Common Heritage Project, and congratulations are due to everyone at Wandsworth Council and the voluntary groups involved in the successful bid. We look forward to the many benefits Phase II of this project will bring to the Tooting Commons. Council meeting on the Heritage Lottery Fund bid FOTC sent a deputation to Wandsworth Councils Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 18th February 2016 to speak on behalf of our members about proposals to cut down trees on Chestnut Avenue, following the appearance of disease in some of the trees (set out in Council paper 16-60 here, which was to be voted on at the meeting). The Tooting Commons Management Advisory Committee (TCMAC) and the Furzedown Community Network (FCN) also sent deputations. Our main concern was that there is no mention in that Council paper of any intention to consult the public on the replacement of the chestnut trees, while, for example, there is a written commitment to consult for a second time on the closure of Dr Johnson Avenue. So FOTC were concerned that, despite earlier promises to consult, there would be no public consultation. FOTC were also concerned that the full range of expert advice provided to Wandsworth Council was not made available. |
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The Council meeting At the Council
meeting, FOTC requested that the Council give a firm commitment to consult
the public on proposals to replace Chestnut Avenue, and to promise that
the tree condition survey (carried out by independent tree experts on
behalf of the Council) and all other expert advice would be made available
to the public. The FOTC offered to assist with elements of the consultation,
if that would be helpful to the Council. Reports on the condition of trees on Chestnut Avenue FOTC are also surprised that the Councils Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Committee has not been provided with all the relevant Tooting Commons tree reports by Council officers. We urge that these reports are provided so that Councillors can make the most informed decision they can. These reports are: the Councils own Tooting Common Management and Maintenance Plan (from August 2015); the Landscape Group, University of East Anglias Tooting Common Heritage Tree Study (from May 2015); and Treework Environmental Practices 2015 Tooting Common Tree Condition Survey (from 2015). |
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Notification of Council plans to FOTC At
the council meeting council officers said that FOTC, and the TCMAC, had
been informed initially in May 2015 of the plans for Chestnut Avenue.
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Friends
of Tooting Common
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