Chair’s report 2026

2025/6 could best be described as a crisis year for CREOS, with challenges both for the committee and for the nature of the open space itself. As soon as the disruptive building works were finished, the Padel invasion began, bringing with it a host of problems – increased ball-on-bat noise, brighter and more extensive lighting, loud music, more litter and more traffic. Not to mention the visual impact of the intrusive structures themselves. Now, with the opening of a cafe onsite too, the heart of the playing fields has become a busy hub of social activity. Whilst it is good to see an increasing number of younger people playing outdoor sport, it cannot be denied that the heart of the Cot has changed from a peaceful rural idyll to a busy sports ground. To help mitigate this, CREOS has taken the following steps:

• We have asked for outdoor music to be turned down and have been assured that it will be limited to three specific occasions each week.
• We asked for the lights to be adjusted and switched off when not in use.
• We asked for overflowing waste to be cleared.
• We asked them to stop clearing the hedgerow.

Georgians have complied with our requests, but we need to continue to be vigilant and we welcome members’ help in keeping a watchful eye.

Maintaining the verdant and peaceful nature of the site through these developments has been a challenge, but now CREOS has had to step into the breach in opposing further building. Georgians have put in an application to cover the Padel courts with a permanent 9m high roof. This would be in breach of regulations protecting Metropolitan Open Land and in contravention of several Haringey and London-wide policies. We have attended numerous meetings and many hours have been spent by one hard-working volunteer in particular, drafting a carefully researched document opposing the application. We are very grateful for this and for the objections placed on the website by so many of our members. It is encouraging that all the clubs on the cot have expressed their opposition too. Together we hope to succeed in protecting our green space from over-development.

On a positive note we are pleased to see that Georgians have now planted a row of new poplars to replace those felled a couple of years ago. The Brookside courts are now completed and in good use, although the landscaping of the area and construction of a new clubhouse is still in the pipeline. The Cot have started work on landscaping the area around the bungalow at the Park Road end of the site, to create a larger car park in that location. The contractors undertaking these works initially created some strange structures that would have killed two of the oldest trees, but following CREOS advice, alterations have now been made. Also new hedgerow saplings and new native trees have been planted to try to restore the lost hedgerow.

Despite a lower number of volunteers on our monthly conservation sessions, the site is still in good order.

• We have kept the paths in good shape.
• The CREOS tools are now stored at the Hanley tennis club for which we are very grateful.
• The hazel coppice is blooming with a variety of wild flowers.
• The wild service trees planted last year have mostly survived, despite the difficulty of getting them watered during dry periods.
• The ditches alongside our paths have been kept clear, largely through the work of three schoolchildren doing their Duke of Edinburgh award.
• The Conservation Volunteers have laid the hedge we planted four years ago in the corner of the school field, and it is now thriving as a result.
• Two CREOS members spent a whole weekend cleaning up after a group of boys broke through a fence, built a tree house and created a fire pit under an oak tree.
• Finally, thanks to the persistent efforts of our committee, with help from Haringey, the police and local councillors, the rough sleeper has finally departed (we hope!) after more than ten years of ‘residence’ and his camp site has been cleared.

Trees are having a difficult time: we witnessed the sad loss of one of our oldest oaks, next to the Hanley car park in December and, as usual, during the course of the year, we have had to arrange the removal of several other fallen trees and branches that have succumbed to old age and weather extremes. Fortunately these have only caused inconvenience rather than injury to the public. Nonetheless we have repeated our request to Haringey to conduct a tree safety inspection, similar to the one undertaken last year by the Cot.

There has been no new pathwork in this financial year, as the volunteers are no longer available. We are therefore looking into the possibility of employing external contractors to make good the gaps in our network and in particular to build in more accessibility. Estimates are currently being sought for the laying of hoggin on sections of path that have not yet been covered.

One very important piece of good news is that we have been successful in recommending NCIL funding for the removal of the ugly and redundant fencing and decaying fence posts that remain on the CREOS site. £30,000 has been allocated by the council and this may be enough to include landscaping around the benches in the meadow, as well as the construction of a raised walkway at the entrance to the Highgate Wood School playing field, to make the area safer and more accessible.

Our regular CREOS social activities have continued as usual, with a well-attended Christmas party and a delightful summer picnic on the meadow. We have encouraged our members to learn about the ecology of the site by continuing our programme of guided tours. Cindy Blaney led an interesting bat walk in August and Prof J G Duckett gave an Autumn Fruits guided walk that attracted an enthusiastic group of members. We will continue to arrange guided visits for the coming year. We are also pleased to announce that plans are already taking shape for this year’s Summer Picnic, with the usual live music, dog competitions, raffle and children’s activities.

As for the crisis in the structure of the CREOS committee, it began with the sad loss of our longstanding member, David Abrams, who served on the committee for 29 years, providing invaluable legal advice, as well as storing and maintaining our workday tools. Soon after this, we heard that our newly appointed treasurer, Sarah Martin, had to step down for personal reasons. This too was a great loss as she had done a fantastic job, leaving us in a strong financial position to deal with challenges like the critical Georgians planning application. We are in urgent need of new members to replace both Sarah and David.

Looking ahead, it is essential to find active, younger members to join us on the committee if we are to continue the fight to defend our green space from commercial development. With your support: donating, volunteering, spreading the word, joining the committee or finding us a new treasurer, we will be fit for the battles ahead.

Glenys Law, May 2026