Bill Oddie today warned against underestimating him as a row deepened over plans for £15 million flood defences on Hampstead Heath.
The broadcaster and wildlife expert clashed with a conservation society in backing proposals by the City of London Corporation to heighten the existing dams around its ponds. The corporation wants the extra defences in case a mega storm strikes.
Oddie, 72, is one of the 2,000 members of the Heath & Hampstead Society, which said the dams would leave the heath “permanently disfigured”.
But Oddie said that after examining the plans he concluded the extra defences were needed for “safety” and for encouraging rare birds. He told the Standard: “Don’t underestimate me, I have lived here for 40 odd years. Whenever anything is going to be managed at a nature reserve this suddenly appears to a layman to be some kind of destruction.
“You always get protests from people who say it’s going to ruin it. People don’t appreciate that nature changes all the time and I think the corporation has a pretty enlightened view.
“They’ve made mistakes but these plans have been created with wildlife in mind and a natural look in mind.”
Comedian Alan Davies and violinist Nigel Kennedy are among the celebrity supporters of the Dam Nonsense campaign which opposes the scheme.
A corporation survey suggested benefits of heightening the dams included new reed beds for nesting birds and an increase in fish and snakes. It it proposed the defences would be built of earth and grass up to 18 ft high.
The Heath & Hampstead Society favours an early warning and evacuation system. Chairman Tony Hillier said: “Bill is not at all well informed, he is a victim of the City’s propaganda machine. He’s entitled to his opinion, but I don’t understand his logic. The corporation is proposing some pretty massive construction on the heath in the interests of safety, which will completely spoil the look of the heath. We are challenging their view of safety, we have some serious legal and civil engineering advice.
“We invite them to go to court to have this matter settled. We don’t object to them improving water quality or improving wildlife, but they are claiming there is a risk of dams breaching in a once in 400,00 years storm.”
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A corporation spokesman said: “Studies show that both chains of pond dams could fail in an extreme storm, putting at risk lives, property and infrastructure in North London. The chances of a damaging storm occurring are low but the consequences if it happens are catastrophic.”
