Below is an article in our archive, written 47 years ago by Christine Ruth, featuring threats the Forest faced back then and the Friends of Epping Forest’s work around road building schemes in the 1970s.
Founded in 1969, the Friends of Epping Forest was one of our predecessor organisations who, amongst other things, worked to advocate for the protection of this irreplaceable ancient Forest.
Section of the archive article.
What price the future of the forest?
by Christine Ruth
EPPING FOREST needs friends there’s no doubt about it. With the Department of the Environment planning great sweeping motorways across it, developers vying to build tower blocks overlooking it and horses hooves churning it up, its chances of survival seem pretty slim.
For thousands of years the land has been covered with trees with just a few villages scattered in between. Local people carried on the time-honoured traditions of lopping and charcoal burning well into this century.
But in the hundred years since Parliament bequeathed it to the people and placed the maintenance of the ancient forest in the hands of the hands of City of London the forest scene has changed radically. Its size has been eroded by housing development, roads and roundabouts. Badgers have been scared away completely and deer are rarely seen, where herds used to be commonplace.
Forest maintenance costs are running at £300,000 a year and there are signs that the City does not want to go on pouring out more money each year. It is possible they will consider, at least in part, establishing commercial enterprises in Epping Forest, similar to those at Hainault, to make the forest pay for itself.
The Conservators are also in a sensitive political position. What Parliament has given it can also take away. If they are too noisy in their opposition to Government road schemes it is not impossible that it could be taken out of their hands altogether.
Imagine the forest’s fate if each of the local authorities on its borders-Redbridge, Newham, Waltham Forest and Epping-were each given their own bit to run? Financial problems would undoubtedly lead to its further erosion. At the moment the costs are born by City of London cash which requires no help from rates or taxes, having been invested years ago. It was with these problems in mind the Friends of Epping Forest formed themselves into a pressure group.
Its origins date back to the 1960s when horse riders were seeking more rights in the forest to oppose any extension of riding. But times have changed. There are now two stable owners on the Friends’ committee and they are pretty united in opposing any increase in the number of riders and local stables.
“We share the opinion of Epping Forest Council and the Conservators that there should be no more local stables. Several planning applications have been turned down recently,” said the Friends’ general secretary, John Greenwood.
“This is virtually the only commercial use made of the forest and we don’t want the forest spoiled for everyone else.” But the Friends’ finest hour came with the M16 inquiry. Plans to build a major junction at Bell Common were squashed by the inspector and he also recommended that the motorway should go underground through some 400 yards of forest land.
They hailed the decision as a great victory, won largely by local people who love the amenity the forest provides. They had acted as a pressure group in a way possibly not open to the Conservators because of their sensitive political position.
And the inquiry’s outcome seems to have given the Conservators heart. They have refused to consider an M11 link road across forest land unless they know the full implications of the entire road system proposed by the Eastern Road Construction Unit.
“Plans of the Department of the Environment involve a serious loss of land along Whipps Cross Road and Woodford New Road and would affect the Hollow Pond and the lake by the Rising Sun,” says the Friends.
So far the Conservators have banned contractors for the construction unit from sinking bore holes and digging trial pits on the land and have refused to hand over any land at all until the whole plan is agreed.
“Forest School headmaster Denis Foxall found a man from a firm of consultant engineers in the school grounds last year testing the ground. “He had no permission whatsoever to be there,” said Mr Greanwood.
“Mr Foxall was suspicious of his motives and informed us that he appeared to be acting on behalf of the Eastern Road Construction Unit”.
The Friends are official objectors to the surface widening scheme for Cambridge Park in Wanstead. They will be speaking at the public inquiry scheduled for sometime next year. When they appear ,they want to be representing as many people as possible.
“At the moment we have 800 to 1,000 members,” said publicity officer Georgina Green. “But if we could say 10,000 people in the area we would be that much more powerful.” They find their strongest support comes from people living on the London edges of the forest – areas where it has already been seriously eroded.
Support is drawn from a wide selection of people, such as retired solicitors, naturalists, like chairman Ken Hoy, who runs The Sun Trap at High Beech, photographers, and many others. If major road schemes were all they were worried about their time would already be completely taken up. As it is they also concern themselves with the introduction of new by-laws in the forest and are keen to see “sleeping policemen” installed to slow down traffic in the High Beach area.
Plans drawn up by Wanstead engineer Alan Cornish to keep water in the Heronry Pond all the year round have their complete support.