We held the first of a series of talks we are planning on 17th May at Vestry House Museum with a great turnout. Thank you to everyone who attended the event.
Two speakers, Mark Gorman and Tricia Moxey, delivered excellent talks looking into the history of how the Forest was saved in the late 19th century, and the threats it is facing now, followed by a lively discussion session with the audience.
The two main conclusions were:
- A huge range of people, from politicians to working-class people, from the liberal elite to the City of London Corporation, all played their part in saving the Forest from enclosure in the 1860s and 1870s
- We need a similar coming together of people now to save the Forest from the current threats of climate change, pollution, adjacent development, and budget cuts.
One of the ideas coming out of the discussion following the debate was bringing together a group of volunteers who could keep an eye on planning applications around the Forest, so as to give us a heads up if there are applications that you think we should take an interest in.
If you are interested in helping us keep track of planning applications around the Forest please e-mail policy@efht.org.uk
If you have any further comments about the event or reflections about the talks, please feel free to share with us at: admin@efht.org.uk
Our thanks go to St’Js for sponsoring this talk, and to CPRE London and Urban Tree Festival for the collaboration.
More info about the talk
To find out more about the talk and our speakers, please visit here.