Bugslife spokesman Jamie Robins speaks about the London Resort saga
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00:00Obviously, we're delighted to see the London resort finally disappear off the map.
00:04It's been a threat to the fantastic habitats of the Swanscombe Peninsula
00:08for years now.
00:09Ourselves at Bug Life, the Kent Wildlife Trust, RSPB
00:13and the local Safe Swanscombe group have been working really hard to see this day.
00:17So we're really pleased that that theme park has disappeared completely.
00:21Well, next, crucially, we need the government to step up and remove
00:26that nationally significant infrastructure project status,
00:29which there's a bit of confusion over because although it was awarded
00:32for the London resort, there is some speculation
00:34it could be applied to a theme park on the land of some sort.
00:37So we need the government to turn around and give the decision back
00:41to local decision makers so we can work together with them and the community
00:45to to have the Swanscombe Peninsula kept as a nature reserve for people.
00:50Absolutely.
00:51The Distinguished Jumping Spider's got the headlines
00:53because it's one of only two sites for it, and it's a fantastic name.
00:56But we're talking about a site that's that's home to thousands
00:59of invertebrate species, nightingales and otters and orchids,
01:03all sorts of wildlife.
01:05And there's there's a reason we've been working with this collection
01:07of wildlife organizations to save the site and pressuring Natural England
01:11to secure its future is because there are very few sites left
01:14where you've got this rich mosaic of different habitats all in one place.
01:19And part of that is down to its position in the Thames estuary.
01:22But it's also down to that, that amazing industrial history
01:26on the peninsula, which shaped the landscape and made it the place
01:30it is today that people go to and enjoy every day.