Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is calling for people to stand up for nature and voice their objection to a planning application which has been submitted by Hillingdon Council to construct a new Watersports Facility and Activity Centre at Broadwater Lake, Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in Harefield. If approved, this would be catastrophic for wildlife and set a dangerous precedent for legally protected wildlife sites like Broadwater Lake across the UK.

Broadwater Lake is part of the Mid Colne Valley SSSI and is recognised by Natural England for its national importance to waterbirds. For decades, its undisturbed open waters have enabled wildlife to flourish, in particular nationally significant populations of wetland birds including endangered Pochard and Shoveler. Studies have shown that its function as an undisturbed refuge enables birds to exploit waters and habitats across and beyond the Colne Valley, and they are then able to fly back to Broadwater Lake when they are disturbed elsewhere.  The lake and surrounding habitats provide a peaceful home, guaranteed refuge, and a rich breeding and feeding ground for animals, including waterbirds, warblers, bats and many different types of insect.

Hillingdon Council wants to relocate Hillingdon Outdoor Activities Centre (HOAC) to Broadwater Lake. The proposed new major development features buildings and infrastructure on the previously undisturbed wooded peninsular, designed to relocate and enable a whole suite of water and land-based recreational activities to be hosted on the SSSI site. Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust are sympathetic to HOAC and the position they have been put in by HS2, but are deeply concerned about the far-reaching impact the development would have on wildlife at a time when nature is in crisis and one in six species are threatened with extinction in the UK. Construction work to develop new buildings, car parks and coach turning points would include the removal of islands, a huge amount of dredging, the destruction of an established bat roost and loss of habitats for migratory birds. 

Once open, the regular barrage of noise and movement from activities on the lake and the surrounding land will cause disturbance to wildlife all year round, destroying a place of refuge and putting stress on species whose populations are already under threat. 

The outcome of this planning application could undermine the future protection for the five other SSSIs within the London Borough of Hillingdon, and over 4,000 Sites of Special Scientific Interest across the country.

As a designated SSSI, Broadwater Lake was ruled out as a potential site for the relocation of HOAC in 2015 by a Parliamentary Select Committee, at which time Hillingdon Council, together with HS2 and HOAC, all recognised it was not an appropriate location due to its high importance for wildlife.

Lesley Davies, CEO at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust says:

“Broadwater Lake was categorically ruled out as a new home for HOAC by the House of Commons Select Committee and it remains a vitally important place for wildlife. Broadwater Lake should never have been re-considered. Wildlife has suffered huge declines in the UK and nature needs help to recover – it is not ok to threaten the future of a nationally important site for wildlife and the Council’s plans put its future at risk. Allowing this damaging development could set a dangerous precedent and make places that are supposed to be protected, vulnerable elsewhere.”

“We’re appealing to everyone who cares about wildlife and its protection to make your voice heard and object to this planning application. It’s vital that we protect precious wildlife at a pivotal point in the climate and nature crisis - we have to act now.”

Marjorie Fox is a local resident, as well as a member of Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust for the past 20 years and is also a Volunteer Warden at Broadwater Lake, she says:

“This SSSI is a national treasure and the threat to it hurts me deeply but it will hurt the birds and the wildlife more. It is their habitat and they don’t have a voice.

For many years, I have had the joy of visiting Broadwater Lake whether it’s seeing the Pochards, Tufted Ducks, Coots, Moorhens, - or, in summer, the Terns, it’s a beautiful resource. This place has enabled me to carry a love of wildlife and share that with others. So, I ask for local people to help Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust fight against this proposed development.  We need Hillingdon Council to realise the scale of this resource is precious and it cannot be put under threat. If the Council succeeds with this application of damaging a SSSI when there is such pressure on wildlife in the UK it will be catastrophic.”

The Trust is objecting to the Council’s planning application and welcomes members of the public to make their own comments on the application here: https://planning.hillingdon.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningDetails?reference=2382/APP/2023/2906&from=planningSearch Find out more about the threat to Broadwater Lake and how to make your own response at https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/threat-broadwater-lake-sssi