Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, has welcomed publication of a draft Woodland Management Plan for Monken Hadley Common in High Barnet. She is encouraging local people to get involved in the debate over the new plan.
The Common is managed almost entirely by volunteers and the plan has been produced with the assistance of an arboriculturalist recommended by the Forestry Commission. Its purpose is to provide a framework for managing the woodland areas of the Common over the next decade. It is currently being circulated to ward councillors and other local stakeholders for comment. Once it has been finalised and agreed by the Management Committee and Trustees of Hadley Common it will be submitted to the Forestry Commission for approval. After that, it should be possible to apply for grants for woodland improvement projects.
Commenting on the draft plan, Theresa Villiers said “Monken Hadley Common is one of the most beautiful parts of my constituency. It is very important that this much valued community amenity is effectively managed and conserved.”
“I therefore welcome the work that has gone into the Woodland Management Plan now under consideration. It contains a number of sensible suggestions which I welcome to care for the woodland area and ensure there is a good path network. It also makes sense to tackle invasive species and clear out holly where it blocks out light, for example by the main path along the north side of the stream in the West Wood. I agree with the emphasis in the plan on safety issues with a regular and recorded system of tree checks.”
“I very much appreciate the hard work done by the Management Committee and Trustees for the Common, the Friends of Monken Hadley Common, and all the volunteers involved with looking after this historic part of the local area. I pass on my thanks to all of them.”
Monken Hadley Common is one of the few surviving remnants of Enfield Chase which was a royal hunting forest for hundreds of years. It is believed that Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I) often hunted on the Chase after she was granted the estate of West Lodge Park by her brother Edward VI in 1547. Enfield Chase was broken up in 1777, with its own Act of Parliament.
To read and comment on the draft Woodland Management Plan, please click on this link to the Monken Hadley Common website. Comments can be sent to [email protected] or by letter c/o 58 Hadley Road, Barnet, EN5 5QS.