The extension of London Underground’s Northern Line would result in the displacement of Kennington Park’s Bee Urban community beekeeping and education centre, putting thousands of bees at risk.
According to Bee Urban, though the park has been promised a similar home elsewhere, Lambeth Council has not shown a ‘suitable alternative’.
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Negotiations with the council on a new home for the bee centre have been ‘long and protracted with many issues still unresolved and the bees’ future in doubt’.
The £1bn Northern Line Extension project was approved by the secretary of state for transport last week. The Kennington to Battersea extension will run through the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea in central London.
Transport for London (TfL) is planning to build an air shaft at the Kennington Park’s bee centre site.
Bee Urban’s Barnaby Shaw said: "TfL want to demolish this green corner and replace it with an air shaft that could have been avoided if they had decided to upgrade Kennington Station instead."
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By GlobalDataLocated at the Keeper’s Lodge in Kennington Park, Bee Urban is a beekeeping and environmental education community project.
The community claims to have transformed the unused garden by planting fruit trees, and growing nectar-rich plants, herbs and flowers. The Bee Barn outbuilding facilitates the centre’s beekeeping operations and educational demonstrations and training sessions.
The centre has an anaerobic digester and solar water heater. Its roof, built using sustainable reclaimed materials, has plants growing on it.
Bee Urban says it would take three years to replicate the place at a new location and the council has not promised any logistical support to shift the centre.
"We have spent years planting, landscaping and working with the local community to create this tranquil fruitful garden in what was a derelict and barren site," Shaw added.
"Some key features of our existing home, such as the community building with its living roof, won’t be re-instated – the proposed location is just not suitable for bees."
Image: Bee Urban is a beekeeping and environmental education community project. Photo: courtesy of Bee Urban.
