Replanting Begins at Thomas's School Sports Pitches

Last year's hedge removal led to outcry

9-tonne excavator from Practicality Brown, contractors for Thomas's School removing invasive bamboo. Picture: Karen Liebreich

March 12, 2026

Fresh planting has begun this week along the boundary of the Thomas’s Day School sports pitches in Chiswick, eight months after the removal of a 450-metre wildlife hedge sparked an outcry.

The new works at the Dukes Meadow site include 16 young trees, a full replacement native hedgerow running the length of the pitches, and the creation of a new ecology zone where log piles, masonry heaps and other wildlife habitats will be carefully relocated next week. Representatives from the London Natural History Society and Abundance London visited the site to observe the planting and meet the school’s groundsman and contractors.

The replanting marks the first visible step towards repairing the damage caused last July, when contractors working for Thomas’s removed a long-established hedge between the school’s leased football pitches and the neighbouring allotments. The pitches are sub-leased from Old Meadonians Football Club, but the hedge sat on the boundary with the Chiswick Horticultural and Allotments Society site.

The removal of the hedge — which included small trees, nesting birds and hedgehog habitat — triggered an immediate and widespread backlash. A consortium of local environmental groups, including Wild Chiswick, the London Natural History Society, Abundance London, and the Chiswick Horticultural and Allotments Society, condemned the works as ecologically destructive and entirely avoidable.

Residents reported seeing birds’ nests destroyed and hedgehog habitat torn up.

The council’s planning department denied having authorised the works. The parks department said it had not been informed. The borough’s ecology officer — who was not consulted — left their post the following week.

Thomas’s Day School initially defended the works but later issued a full apology. The school committed to replanting the hedge and improving communication with local groups.

The lack of clarity over responsibility has continued to frustrate local groups, who argue that the incident exposed gaps in oversight and communication between the school, the football club, and the council.

New native hedging (blackthorn, cherry, beech, elder, holly, hazel, guelder rose, common dogwood, buckthorn and spindle). Picture: Karen Liebreich

The new hedge is composed of native species suitable for wildlife, and the young trees will help restore canopy cover lost during the clearance. The new ecology area will serve as a dedicated habitat zone and an educational resource for local schools.

Karen Liebreich of Abundance London said, “This is the kind of excellent result that can be achieved when both sides wish to move forward.”

Mick Massie of the London Natural History Society added, “Once successfully established and if sensitively maintained, this replanting has the potential to become a showpiece biodiversity feature for the area.”