Threat to Broadwater Lake SSSI

Large still lake bordered by trees on a bright day, the blue gently clouded sky is reflected in the lake’s surface. Orange graphic on the bottom large text reads "Save Broadwater Lake", small text reads "Site of Special Scientific Interest"

Nationally Important Wildlife Haven Under Threat

It is not OK to threaten the future of a nationally important site for wildlife.
Lesley Davies
Chief Executive, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust

A nationally protected wetland and the wildlife that relies on it are under threat. In November 2023, Hillingdon Council submitted a planning application to build a new Watersports Facility and Activity Centre on Broadwater Lake, Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a site protected in law.

This would be catastrophic for the wildlife and set a dangerous precedent for legally protected sites across the UK.

Together with Natural England, the Environment Agency, RSPB, London Wildlife Trust, the Colne Valley Regional Park and 1200 individuals and organisations, we have OBJECTED to Hillingdon Council's planning application.

Object to the Planning Application Here

Read Our Responses to the Planning Application

You can read our response to the planning application here. Objections made by Natural England and the Environment Agency are particularly important as they are statutory consultees - you can read a summary of their main concerns here. 

How You Can Stand Up for Broadwater Lake

The planning application for Broadwater Lake was expected to be considered by the Planning Committee on 14 March 2024 but it was not on the agenda, and there is no confirmed date when it will be. You can read the latest update from our Director of Nature Recovery, Chloe Edwards, here.

In the meantime, you can still continue to use your voice to stand up for nature at Broadwater Lake SSSI.  Here's how:

  • If you haven’t already, please consider objecting to the planning application here, and encourage others to do the same. Comments continue to be accepted up until the Planning Committee date. You can view the Trust's concerns and objections here.
  • If you live in Hillingdon Borough then you could get in touch with your Council representatives on the Planning Committee and/or your local MP to raise awareness of your concerns about the proposals and the catastrophic impact approving this scheme would have on Broadwater Lake SSSI. 
  • Wherever you live, you can still reach out to your elected representatives (local Councillors or your MP) to share details of this nationally-relevant case and highlight that nature matters to you and will influence how you vote later this year. 

Find out more about the threat to Broadwater Lake below.

Pochard bird in water with words under threat alongside it

Why Broadwater Lake is not the right place for this development

Broadwater Lake is part of the Mid Colne Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).  SSSIs, like Broadwater Lake, are designated to safeguard our most important places for wildlife across the UK and to conserve our natural heritage for present and future generations. 

Broadwater Lake is particularly notable as it’s the largest expanse of open water in the Colne Valley, It provides an absolutely critical refuge for wildlife in this already very busy landscape and supports nationally important populations of wintering birds (Shoveler and Pochard). The site is also incredibly important for other birds during the breeding season, including Grey Heron, Little Egret, Cormorant, Kingfisher and Cetti’s Warbler and plays a vital role in protecting birds like Tufted Ducks when they are at their most vulnerable and can’t fly during their annual moult in the summer months.

Hillingdon Council has agreed to relocate Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre (HOAC), which lost its base due to works associated with Phase 1 of High Speed 2.  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, recognised it was not an appropriate location for the proposed relocation due to its ecological importance.  

We sympathise with HOAC's position and are not at odds with their members or the many people who enjoy outdoor activities on and off the water. However, it remains the case that this is not the right place for such a development and Hillingdon Council need to find a more suitable location for it.

Otter near water next to an Under Threat sign and Save Broadwater Lake banner

What is included in the planning application and what impact will it have?

The proposed Hillingdon Watersports Facility and Activity Centre is a new major development featuring 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 at Broadwater Lake.  

The existing sailing activities here already cause a level of disturbance and the proposed development will greatly intensify this. Crucially, the development of a facility on the peninsular will shift the starting location for existing sailing and all new water-based activities (kayaking, canoeing, rowing, paddle-boarding, raft-building, windsurfing) from the north of the lake to the south, where no sailing takes place currently.

A variety of land-based activities are also proposed on the peninsular itself, including pedal go-karting, high and low ropes and zip lines. This will bring unprecedented levels of disturbance closer to the critical refuge area in the south of the lake and onto the peninsular itself, subjecting birds and other wildlife to a barrage of noise and movement in some form throughout the year.

The planning application proposes new refuge areas for birds but these are insufficient and it underplays how significant disturbance will be. Wildlife cannot thrive alongside this level of intense recreational activity.

Hillingdon Council's Claims to Protect Nature Don't Add Up

The planning application claims to be ecologically-led but this couldn't be further from the truth:

  • Hillingdon Council’s claims of no significant effects on wildlife are not credible. Disturbance to breeding, moulting and wintering birds, from both the construction and use of the centre once its operational cannot be properly mitigated for. It is clear that there will be significant harm to biodiversity and an adverse effect on a legally protected site.
  • Using a site which is legally protected for nature conservation as a Watersports Facility and Activity Centre undermines national and local planning policies and sets a damaging precedent.
  • Hillingdon Council claims that Broadwater Lake is the only suitable and available site for the relocation but it has missed opportunities to find an alternative site with fewer impacts on wildlife. If the Council's application was really ecologically-led, it's recent Alternative Sites Assessment would have focused on ecological harm rather than purely recreational criteria. The Council’s recent assessment is contrary to the HS2 2015 options report which categorically ruled out Broadwater Lake because of its wildlife importance and it also does not consider whether it would be possible to split activities across two or more smaller sites with fewer ecological sensitivities.

 

Wildlife cannot speak up for itself. In the midst of a nature crisis - with one in six species threatened with extinction in Great Britain - we have to stand up to protect our most important places for nature.

Broadwater Lake SSSI is not the right place for this development. 

If our legally protected sites are open to development, is anywhere safe?

 

Further Information

Please find details below on who will make the final decision plus key timings for the planning application.

You can also read a joint letter to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan from Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and London Wildlife Trust here.

Who will make the decision about the development at Broadwater Lake SSSI?

A recommendation will be made by Planning Officers at Hillingdon Council, taking into account comments received during the consultation. As a major application, if the application is recommended for approval then it would be reported to the Hillingdon Council Planning Committee for a final decision to be made.

If the application is recommended for refusal, it would be a delegated decision not requiring that it be reported to the Planning Committee. Depending on the recommendation, the application will also need to be reported to Committee if petitions in support or in objection to the scheme are submitted.

We have been informed by Hillingdon Council that the application, if recommended for approval, is expected to be considered by the Planning Committee on 14 March 2024.

Other pertinent information related to the decision

Natural England is the designating body for SSSIs in England. They are responsible for acting to ensure their protection and have powers to do so. Natural England’s response to the planning consultation is key to the decision made on this application. Hillingdon Council have informed us that if Natural England object, as they have done, they would be forced to find an alternative site for the Hillingdon Watersports Facility and Activity Centre.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has prepared the London Plan that all London Boroughs should follow and the GLA will assess the planning application.

When will the decision be made?

Hillingdon Council submitted their planning application on 6 November 2023.

Public consultation started on 16 November and was open for comment until 21 December 2023.  Please note: this was an extension to the original 19 December deadline, confirmed by Hillingdon Council following a 4 day block on access to their planning webpage at the start of the consultation period. 

We have been informed by Hillingdon Council that the application, if recommended for approval, is expected to be considered by the Planning Committee on 14 March 2024.

How have the Trust engaged with Hillingdon Council regarding their proposal?

Since we heard rumour of  Hillingdon Council’s proposals in October 2022, the Trust repeatedly approached Hillingdon Council over many months to try to engage in meaningful dialogue and flag our concerns. Since spring 2023 we have met with Council leaders and their project team three times, on each occasion raising our concerns about the ecological value of Broadwater Lake SSSI and the real risks associated with their proposals.

We do not feel we were listened to and the concerns we raised have been repeatedly dismissed.