Eleanor Laming has raised concerns with Broadland District Council and Thorpe St Andrew Town Council about the possible spraying of weedkiller on the site of the Oasis Leisure Centre, Pound Lane, Thorpe St Andrew. The site is currently earmarked for development (Planning Applications: 20190016 and 20211168).
The site seems to have been sprayed very recently and comprehensively with some form of chemical weedkiller. The vegetation that had been flourishing on the site is now dead and brown. I am extremely concerned that if this is the case, any biodiversity on the site will have been severely damaged and if a chemical has been used it will enter the water courses nearby, particularly as we have had heavy rain recently.
If chemicals have been sprayed on such a site it is not possible to stop them from being spread externally. Land nearby is used by dog walkers and is home to a variety of wildlife. The adjacent Belmore Plantation is earmarked for use as a recreational woodland area should the housing planned for the Racecourse Plantation off Plumstead Road East go ahead (Planning Applications 20161896 and 20212075)
It is of particular irony that this month is No Mow May when residents and councils are being encouraged to allow the growth of grassland and vegetation to encourage the survival of pollinators at a time when biodiversity in the UK is severely under threat.
It is expected that from November 2023 all developments will be required to show a 10% biodiversity net gain in line with the Environment Act 2021 so I find this loss of vegetation very worrying.
https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/23522263.chemicals-possibly-used-thorpe-st-andrew-green-space/
