'What's next, wolves in Wanstead? Bears in Battersea?': Sadiq Khan's £600,000 plans for rewilding of Hyde Park including the introduction of BEAVERS are mocked by conservationists as pointless waste of taxpayers' money
Sadiq Khan's plans to 'rewild' Hyde Park to become a home for roaming beavers and other rare species have been mocked by conservationists as attention seeking.
The London Mayor wants to boost nature in the capital, including making the royal parks wilder and encouraging people to plant green rooftops.
This week he announced £600,000 of public funding that will go into a Rewild London Fund, with another £300,000 to be spent on 'Keeping it Wild' traineeships for young people aged 16-25.
The funding will go towards projects looking to restore London's most precious wildlife sites and create more natural habitats.
It will also aim to help special species thrive, including creating new homes for stag beetles and potentially introducing Britain's 'native' beavers to newly restored waterways.
The plan will help Khan meet his stated aim for all Londoners to live within a 10-minute walk of green space.
However, the proposals have already been criticised for not being serious enough and coming at the expense of the taxpayer.
'What's next, wolves in Wanstead? Bears in Battersea?,' one conservationist told MailOnline.
'Greening London is a fantastic thing, but this isn't rewilding.
'It seems to be more about headline grabbing than it does a serious attempt to make our capital a greener place and all at the expense of the taxpayer.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced a £600,000 Rewild London Fund to restore wildlife sites and create more natural habitats for plants and animals in the city
London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to boost nature in the capital, including making the royal parks wilder and encouraging people to plant green rooftops
'Rewilding, by its own controversial definition, is all about removing human impact and allowing nature to take over and we need to accept that in London that is just not possible given the sheer size of the population.'
The Labour Mayor is also working with Ben Goldsmith, the brother of multi-millionaire Tory peer and environment minister Zac Goldsmith. He is also a non-executive director of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Mr Goldsmith said the plans would involve 'more wild spaces, more scrub, river rewiggling and species reintroductions'.
'From green rooftops to pocket parks, nest boxes for peregrines and swifts, rewiggling streams and reintroducing long lost native species, our plan is to weave wild nature back through the very fabric of our city,' he added.
They would also work in partnership with the London Wildlife Trust to support Londoners from BAME backgrounds as well as the disabled or economically deprived to develop 'green skills'.
The Mayor of London said: 'The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.
'In London, we need to take bold action to ensure that we not only halt the decline of biodiversity in our natural environment but pave the way for growth and change.
'That's why I've announced my new Rewilding Fund, which will help restore the capital's precious wildlife sites, improve biodiversity and ensure all Londoners have a thriving web of nature on their doorstep.
The £600,000 funding pot is expected to support about 25 projects. The funding is open to local authorities and organisations that look after land.
Hyde Park is among those reported to be in line for a green overhaul
Campaigners have urged leaders in London to reintroduce wildlife back into the city, with Wildlife Trusts, The Beaver Trust and Citizen Zoo working on plans to bring beavers back to London.
Beavers have already been set to make a comeback to rivers across England under new Government plans.
They will be given legal protection as a 'native species' with licences granted to allow their release into the wild.
Supporters of 'rewilding' beavers, following a successful reintroduction on the River Otter in Devon, say 'nature's engineers' can help in the fight against flooding.
But farmers warn that beavers could threaten their livelihoods by destroying crops
The creatures had been extinct in the UK for around 400 years before being reintroduced in small areas in 2009.
Environment Secretary George Eustice will today launch a 12-week consultation over the plans and said the Government would take a 'cautious approach' to ensure all potential impacts were considered.
Under the plans, applications for licences to release beavers into the wild would need to meet certain criteria such as making sure support for landowners and river users is put in place.
Conservationists argue that beavers would boost eco-tourism and create important wetlands.
The animals could even cut the flow of water from flooding by up to 60 per cent via the dams they create, according to one study.
Supporters of 'rewilding' beavers, following a successful reintroduction on the River Otter in Devon, say 'nature's engineers' can help in the fight against flooding
But farmers warn there is a risk that beavers could threaten their livelihoods by destroying crops
Rob Stoneman, of The Wildlife Trusts, said: 'Beavers can help to improve the quality of rivers and wetlands and the wildlife they support, improve water quality, and reduce flood risk, as well as contributing to carbon storage.'
Richard Bramley, chairman of the National Farmers Union's environment forum, said: 'Any impact on a farmer's ability to produce food needs to be included as part of a full impact assessment carried out before any licence is issued.
We must remember that beaver reintroductions can have negative impacts; potentially undermining riverbanks, damaging trees, impeding drainage and causing low-lying fields to flood.'
The first urban beavers are set to be introduced in Shrewsbury next year.
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