Chris Packham has bashed Tottenham Hotspur F.C. over plans to turn part of a public wildlife park into football fields.
Chris Packham has bashed Tottenham Hotspur F.C. over their plans to turn part of a public wildlife part into football fields
The ‘Springwatch’ presenter, 63, has long been an advocate of the environment, and he has now taken aim at the sports club after bosses revealed they would build a women’s football academy on some of Whitewebbs Park in Enfield, north London.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, he said: “There'll be no football on a dead planet….what we are up against is the bloated monster that is the football Premier League with its unfortunate economic might. This is another case of David versus Goliath.”
Chris described the move as "absolutely nonsensical".
He continued: “What's the score at the moment? Tottenham: 1, Planet: Nil. That's it isn't it.
“If they've done without the astro turf and pitches up until this point then why do they need it there now? We are going to lose so much valuable space for what are essentially football pitches. We are losing that acid rich grassland to a small group of people behind fences who kick a ball around. It's absolutely nonsensical.”
Spurs stated The Women’s and Girl’s Training Grounds will take up roughly 18 per cent of the Whitewebbs area - with the club vowing to repair a local pond, plant 3,000 new trees and create a “biodiversity corridor” in the area - but Chris insisted “every last square of greenery” needs to be protected at all costs, particularly in major cities like London.
He argued: “This is at a time where we are conscious of the fact we need to protect every last square of greenery, particularly in cities where it has multiple values.
“It's not just about nature conservation, it's about people's mental health and access to nature for people who are living in a crowded urban environment. It's absolutely bonkers and Spurs are totally disconnected from reality.”
The conservationist emphasised “nature needs to come first”, and insisted Spurs should look to build the academy “somewhere where it doesn’t matter”.
He explained: “The reality is that we can't afford to lose anymore green spaces in our cities, they keep the cities cool. You only need a map to look at the world, to see that many parts of it are cooking.”