Biodiversity Strategy for The Royal Parks

Caroline Scott made this Freedom of Information request to The Royal Parks This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

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Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, The Royal Parks should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear The Royal Parks,

Please can you send me the following information:

1. The Biodiversity Strategy for The Royal Parks in whatsoever form it exists, with dates of different drafts of the Strategy, names of entities or people with whom The Royal Parks consulted on the Biodiversity Strategy with comments and feedback on the draft Biodiversity Strategy from such entities or people
2. Correspondence with Natural England relating to the Biodiversity Strategy, particularly relating to Richmond Park
3. Written analysis or research that was conducted by The Royal Parks or third parties as part of formulating, or that was used to inform, the Biodiversity Strategy, including but not limited to analysis and research that relates to the Lucanus Cervus or Stag Beetle, the species that is protected in Richmond Park under the Habitats Directive
5. Any information you have relating to Richmond Park on the extent and distribution of the habitats of the stag beetle, the structure and function of those habitats, the supporting processes on which the stag beetle relies, the populations of the stag beetle and the distribution of the stag beetle across Richmond Park SAC
6. Information showing actions planned and/or being taken to restore Richmond Park SAC to favourable status as measured by Natural England in its designated sites assessment of Richmond Park

Yours faithfully,

Caroline Scott

Dear Caroline Scott,

Thank you for your enquiry by email dated 5 March 2020 under The Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

Your enquiry is being dealt with and The Royal Parks will aim to reply to
your enquiry within 20 working days, commencing from 6 March 2020, the
next working day after receipt.

If you have any questions pertaining to this enquiry or require further
assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. My contact details are
listed below.

Yours sincerely,

Registered Offices: The Old Police House, Hyde Park, London. W2 2UH

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Dear Gavin Gribbon,

Please can you tell me when I will receive the information requested under this Freedom of Information Act request? By law, The Royal Parks should have sent me a reply before the 3rd April 2020.

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Scott

Dear Caroline Scott,

Thank you for your enquiry regarding your Freedom of Information request.

As you will hopefully understand, the staff in The Royal Parks who are
involved in the reply to your Freedom of Information request are working
under a high degree of pressure as a result of the current situation.

The response to your request is still ongoing and we hope to have a
response to you shortly.

Regards,

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Dear Gavin Gribbon,

I wondered when I will receive a reply to my request?

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Scott

Dear Caroline Scott,

Thank you, I will chase up.

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Dear Gavin Gribbon,

Thank you and stay well.

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Scott

Richmond Park Stag beetle records FOI request.xlsx

65K Download View as HTML

Our reference: FOI 20/08

Dear Ms Scott,

Thank you for your email of 5 March 2020 in which you asked:

Please can you send me the following information:

1. The Biodiversity Strategy for The Royal Parks in whatsoever form it
exists, with dates of different drafts of the Strategy, names of entities
or people with whom The Royal Parks consulted on the Biodiversity Strategy
with comments and feedback on the draft Biodiversity Strategy from such
entities or people 2. Correspondence with Natural England relating to the
Biodiversity Strategy, particularly relating to Richmond Park 3. Written
analysis or research that was conducted by The Royal Parks or third
parties as part of formulating, or that was used to inform, the
Biodiversity Strategy, including but not limited to analysis and research
that relates to the Lucanus cervus or Stag Beetle, the species that is
protected in Richmond Park under the Habitats Directive 5. Any information
you have relating to Richmond Park on the extent and distribution of the
habitats of the stag beetle, the structure and function of those habitats,
the supporting processes on which the stag beetle relies, the populations
of the stag beetle and the distribution of the stag beetle across Richmond
Park SAC 6. Information showing actions planned and/or being taken to
restore Richmond Park SAC to favourable status as measured by Natural
England in its designated sites assessment of Richmond Park

In response to your questions:

There is a new biodiversity strategy in the process of development which
will be launched in due course and when the current situation permits.

There has been no external consultation regarding the strategy. The
strategy will inform how TRP will work at the strategic level to deliver
benefits for biodiversity. It does not cover site specific proposals,
including for our SSSIs, other than to provide selected examples to help
the public understand what we hope to achieve, and therefore there is no
statutory duty to consult more widely. There are therefore no external
consultations to provide at this stage.

2. Correspondence with Natural England relating to the Biodiversity
Strategy, particularly relating to Richmond Park

As above, Natural England have not been consulted given the nature of the
strategy.

3. Written analysis or research that was conducted by The Royal Parks or
third parties as part of formulating, or that was used to inform, the
Biodiversity Strategy, including but not limited to analysis and research
that relates to the Lucanus cervus or Stag Beetle, the species that is
protected in Richmond Park under the Habitats Directive

No formal written analysis or research has been conducted to specifically
inform the Biodiversity Strategy. This is being developed through
extensive knowledge / professional judgement of The Royal Parks staff,
informed by wider biological records.

Further information regarding stag beetles is provided below.

5. Any information you have relating to Richmond Park on the extent and
distribution of the habitats of the stag beetle, the structure and
function of those habitats, the supporting processes on which the stag
beetle relies, the populations of the stag beetle and the distribution of
the stag beetle across Richmond Park SAC

We attach a spreadsheet of all stag beetle records that The Royal Parks
hold for Richmond Park. The data included in this spreadsheet are from The
Royal Parks species database only. For Richmond Park species data recorded
by 3^rd parties, such as London Wildlife Trust, People’s Trust for
Endangered Species or London Natural History Society survey data, please
contact GiGL CIC.

With respect to the extent and distribution of the habitats of the stag
beetle, the species uses a wide range of underground deadwood habitats to
complete its life cycle. We do not map all of these habitats given that
they are very numerous and varied across the Park, and given practical
difficulties identifying underground deadwood. As a proxy we refer you to
pages 39-44 and 48 of the Richmond Park Management Plan (see web link
below) which provides maps and details of treed habitats and stag beetles
(although note that not all trees and treed habitats will necessarily
support below ground deadwood).

In terms of the supporting process, there are a number of information
sources available regarding the ecology of stag beetle for example
[1]https://ptes.org/campaigns/stag-beetles-....

6. Information showing actions planned and/or being taken to restore
Richmond Park SAC to favourable status as measured by Natural England in
its designated sites assessment of Richmond Park

We refer you to the Richmond Park Management Plan
[2]https://www.royalparks.org.uk/__data/ass...

I hope that this information satisfies your request.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original email, quoting the reference at the top of the page and should be
addressed to:

FOI Officer

The Royal Parks

The Old Police House

Hyde Park

London

W2 2UH

Email [3][The Royal Parks request email]

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision, quoting the reference at the top of the page. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Registered Offices: The Old Police House, Hyde Park, London. W2 2UH

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References

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1. https://ptes.org/campaigns/stag-beetles-...
2. https://www.royalparks.org.uk/__data/ass...
3. mailto:[The Royal Parks request email]
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Dear The Royal Parks,

Thank you for your response, received today. I hope you are all keeping well.

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of The Royal Parks's handling of my FOI request 'Biodiversity Strategy for The Royal Parks'.

A. I asked for:
1. The Biodiversity Strategy for The Royal Parks in whatsoever form it
exists, with dates of different drafts of the Strategy, names of entities
or people with whom The Royal Parks consulted on the Biodiversity Strategy
with comments and feedback on the draft Biodiversity Strategy from such
entities or people

You responded:
There is a new biodiversity strategy in the process of development which
will be launched in due course and when the current situation permits.

Given that a biodiversity strategy is "in the process of development", I would like to receive whatever draft of such strategy currently exists. I am not requesting to see the biodiversity strategy as it will be launched and published in due course.

B. I also requested:
6. Information showing actions planned and/or being taken to restore
Richmond Park SAC to favourable status as measured by Natural England in
its designated sites assessment of Richmond Park

You replied:

We refer you to the Richmond Park Management Plan
[2]https://www.royalparks.org.uk/__data/ass...

However, the Richmond Park Management Plan does record in any formal way actions being taken by the Royal Parks to restore the park to favourable status as defined by Natural England. It has also been brought to my attention that no definition of "favourable status" from a conservation point of view has EVER been agreed for Richmond Park. Is this correct?

I therefore request that you clarify whether a definition of "favourable status" does exist for Richmond Park SAC, and the FORMAL actions the Royal Parks has agreed to take as custodians of Richmond Park SAC and its SSSIs to restore protected areas to "favourable status".

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Thank you for carrying out an internal review. This information is of public interest as The Royal Parks are the custodian of Richmond Park SAC and SSSI which are legally protected under the Habitats Directive and which need to be maintained or restored to favourable status as laid out by Natural England. I also believe that the information is of public interest given the massive scale of development planned around Richmond SAC by the Mayor of London in the new London Plan.

Yours faithfully,

Caroline Scott

Dear Caroline Scott,

This is to acknowledge your request for review and that this will be taken
forward.

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Dear Records Mailbox,

I hope you are well.

For clarification, I was sent, and have stored, the following statement from an employee of Richmond Park in early 2020, which leaves no doubt as to the existence of a draft biodiversity strategy for the Royal Parks as of the date I requested it. I believe that you have a legal obligation to disclose the strategy, in the form it existed on the date I requested it, to me:

"We have recently drafted a Biodiversity Strategy for the Royal Parks and subject to Board approval, this will be published on our web site – probably within the next month or so. This sets the overall direction and priorities for conservation going forward."

Please can you send me the information requested without delay?

Many thanks and stay well

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Scott

Dear The Royal Parks,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of The Royal Parks's handling of my FOI request 'Biodiversity Strategy for The Royal Parks'.

I can see no reason for further delay in sending me the information I have requested. You have had 6 months now to reply.

There is a strong public interest argument that the biodiversity strategy for Richmond Park is disclosed to the public in whatsoever form it exists before the London Plan is published. Development on a scale never seen before is about to take place all around Richmond Park and the Richmond Park biodiversity strategy is key to providing evidence of whether such development will have an adverse long term impact on the protected stag beetle or its ancient woodland habitat.

I ask you to send the information requested without further delay.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Yours faithfully,

Caroline Scott

Dear Caroline Scott,

This is to acknowledge receipt of your request for an internal review of
your FOI.

This will be attended to and I will give you an update as soon as
possible.

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TRP Biodiversity Framework FINAL JULY 2020.pdf

4.2M Download View as HTML

Dear Caroline,

Your email of 22 September 2020 requested a review of your request
referenced above regarding the release of The Royal Parks’ new
biodiversity strategy.

At the time you made the initial request, the framework document was still
under discussion at managerial and board level and, that discussion being
now concluded and the biodiversity framework document finalised we are
happy to release it and therefore a copy is attached to this email.

Registered Offices: The Old Police House, Hyde Park, London. W2 2UH

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Disclaimer

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Biodiversity Strategy for The Royal Parks

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