Call to clean up Barnet and Brent beauty spot

Leila Taheri says thousands of bags of litter have been collected from in and around Brent Reservoir – also known as the Welsh Harp – but despite the best efforts of volunteer litter-pickers, the rubbish keeps on piling up.

The Welsh Harp is owned by the Canal and River Trust, with Barnet Council and Brent Council among the organisations involved in its management.

Ms Taheri, who lives close to the reservoir and is a member of the Friends of the Welsh Harp volunteer group, wants the organisations to help with the long-term clear-up efforts.

A recent image showing rubbish at the Welsh Harp (Image: Leila Taheri)

“There is so much rubbish,” she said. “They do so many clear-ups, and it just doesn’t seem to make a difference. I think it is because a lot of rubbish is coming from upstream.

“There is rubbish everywhere in the water, and this reservoir is a site of special scientific interest. Why are we treating it like this?

“Over the years, 2,000 bags of litter have been collected and tons of larger items – mattresses, safes, car parts, statues, trolleys, everything you can possibly imagine.

A recent image showing rubbish at the Welsh Harp (Image: Leila Taheri)

“A lot of rubbish is washed up on the banks. This requires a concerted effort and a commitment to this area.

“I have organised two litter-picks – but this is impossible for a group of people to do. Ultimately, it needs a lot of funding, full-time rangers and a cohesive management plan.”

In a statement, the Canal and River Trust said it was aware of the situation at Welsh Harp Reservoir and was “personally responding to all who have been in touch”.

A recent image showing rubbish at the Welsh Harp (Image: Leila Taheri)

It added that the reservoir was recently drained “for the purpose of carrying out urgent inspection works on a structure in the reservoir”, and further work may be required.

The statement continues: “The circumstances we are facing in order to remove the waste and rubbish are not usual for the trust. We have a duty of care to ensure the safety of our staff during the pandemic, and we are therefore operating with fewer people, according to government guidelines during the lockdown. As the reservoir bed is silt, we need to manage the additional risk of any removal operation.

A recent image showing rubbish at the Welsh Harp (Image: Leila Taheri)

“At the time of the draining of the reservoir, the water levels revealed the extent of waste that had built up. As a charity with limited resources, and lockdown rules causing us to temporarily suspend our regular volunteer litter picks, the trust appeals to people not to fly-tip into the reservoir and for everyone in the community to value the reservoir for the precious environmental and wellbeing asset that it is.”

Details of how to support the trust’s Plastics Challenge and combine a litter pick with local daily exercise are available here.

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “We continue to work closely with stakeholders and landowners around the Welsh Harp to tackle such issues such as littering. This has included supporting community action days and doing clearance works in some key areas.

“We are working with our partners to develop an overarching strategic vision for the Welsh Harp and as part of the West Hendon Playing Fields Master Plan, we aim to support improvements and enhancements to the Welsh Harp.

“We would ask that all flytipping be reported at www.barnet.gov.uk/flytipping, so that it can be investigated and cleared away by our team or passed onto the appropriate landowner.”

Brent Council has also been approached for comment.

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