18
Horse Chestnut in the wood. They included
Mycetobia pallipes Mg., Aulacigaster leucopeza
(Mg.) a Systenus sp. and an extremely rare
fly Odinia hendeli Col., otherwise only known
in Britain from Kent and Cambridgeshire.
Essex seems to be a good county for these small
flies (Ordiniidae). They are all rare, but
Odinia meijerei Col. has been found at
Buckhurst Hill and in Dagnam Park (D. A.
Smith). Odinia boletina (Zett.) is known
also from Dagnam Park and Brian Cogan formerly
of the Natural History Museum described Odinia
pomona Cogan from specimens taken at Danbury
in Essex in 1968. Thus Essex has four of the
six species known in this family.
Rainham Marsh - Latest Developments
It has been widely reported in the national
press recently about a proposed major
development at Rainham, Wennington and Aveley
Marshes, situated in the Borough of Havering
and some in Thurrock. The total site covers
ca. 1,600 acres of a diverse mosaic of habitat
types including prime quality Thames grazing
marsh, si It—dredging lagoons, rough grassland
and an area of refuse landfill. Some parts of
the land are owned by the M.O.D. and are used
as a rifle range.
The development on this site would be in the
form of a film and television studio complex
with associated industrial, commercial and
residential areas. An American-style "theme
park" would also be included. The developed
site would be of a significant size. I would
estimate it would cover about 1,000 acres.