Good home for Gatwick?

So, BAA’s monopoly is finally ending. We have met the news that Gatwick is to be bought by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) with mixed views. From a personal point of view the breaking up of such a monopoly can only be a good thing – how has it lasted so long?

From a Woodland Trust point of view, the ongoing threat of an additional runway which could threaten 75 hectares of ancient woodland (including the Trust’s Edolphs Copse and Ricketts Wood) is serious. There has been much debate on the likelihood of the additional runway. The Air Transport White Paper indicated the case for a second runway was not as strong here as at Stansted and Heathrow. The paper did however also recommended that the land around Gatwick was safeguarded from development to keep it free for airport expansion, and so the threat lingers like a bad smell or unpleasant taste.

There is unlikely to be further development until the legal agreement that was drawn up by West Sussex County Council in 1979 to prevent a second runway before 2019 expires but we don’t know what else GIP have in store as part of their plans to improve Gatwick. As part of the coalition AirportWatch we will automatically be keeping an eye on what happens at Gatwick - if these plans are at the expense of ancient woodland we will take the threat very seriously and fight for its protection.

Coal causes controversy

This week the Woods under Threat team have been working on an open cast coal proposal - ’exciting’ I hear you say, with a touch of sarcasm! And you would be right, parts of the application are immensely complex, the ‘geotechnical assessment’ is enough to discourage anyone from looking in more detail at the application. However at the same time the case is bizarrely intriguing and presents a key threat to ancient woodland.

The area put forward for the open cast is the Pentremawr colliery between Pont-henri and Pontyberem in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Historically coal mining was hugely important part of these communities and was responsible for the development of the villages. The seams of coal in the Gwendraeth Valley have been worked since the 1860s right up to mid 20th century, however the industry has now declined and is no longer so key to the area.

Recently an application was made to Carmarthenshire County Council from Draeth Developments Ltd to open cast the site. As you can imagine this has been met with horror by the local people, who have formed an action group to fight the proposals. There are too many examples across Wales of local communities being blighted by open cast coal for people not to be uneasy of any new open cast (Margam, Merthyr Tydfill to name a couple).

Extraction of coal has a huge impact. Photo: BGS (click to enlarge)

A few weeks ago a public meeting was held with a representative from Draeth Developments. In places the meeting was quite heated - it was fantastic to hear people sticking up for their local woodland and asking about the merits of an open cast coal mine when we are faced with such a threat from climate change. What was even more heart warming was people rightly questioning the merits of ‘replacing ancient woodland’ and asking how this is possible!

In response to the application we have lodged an objection with the County Council as we are hugely concerned over the impacts of the open cast mine on ancient woodland. Not only will there be a significant loss of ancient woodland but the ancient woodland that is not being removed by the proposals will end up right next door to a huge black pit. Definitely one of the ultimate ‘Neighbours from hell’.

Climate change – People have a powerful voice – we need to use it to protect ancient woodland

The recent announcement about Kingsnorth has been welcomed by environmentalists, green activists and sensible people everywhere.  There is no doubt that without the questions, debate and delays brought about by the huge opposition to this proposed new coal fired power station, it would be well on its way to being built by now. It shows what a difference the public voice really can make when it is raised in unison.

Similarly, in the East Midlands today another unwelcome development was halted, as Sherwood Forest was saved - for now – from having a new incinerator as its neighbour.  The community campaign against these plans has been long and hard-fought, and now what seems to be a flawed environmental assessment of the site by the applicant means more delays while the threat it poses to protected bird species are looked into.  Reprieve for the  ancient woodlands of  Sherwood Forest, which (if you will pardon the pun) can breathe more easily tonight…

So, while people power has shown that in many cases it can make a real difference to the fate of our natural environment, that voice still needs to be raised.

The Woodland Trust is alerted to new cases of threats to our natural world every single day.  Mineral extraction in particular is an issue that is still affecting the unique habitat of ancient woodland, right across the UK. Extraction plans for materials including oil, limestone and coal are keeping us very busy, to the detriment of ancient woodland. 

We recently lost Markswell Wood to oil exploration, and we are awaiting a decision about whether Sussex will be devastated by another hydrocarbon exploration site (that’s an oil drill to the uninitiated), planned in Bury Hill Woods which many of you will have objected to.

But despite E-on putting the stops to Kingsnorth for now, it’s coal that is occupying so much of our time at the moment.  As well as the obvious climate change issue, fragmentation is a serious problem, but where coal is concerned dust can be a particular concern.  Trees are used as a method of catching dust and are often used as screens to protect housing near mineral extraction sites.  Dust is widely recognised as an issue and species (such as lichens) found in ancient woodland are highly susceptible to dust.

In Telford a new open cast coal mine has just been approved, which will bring negative impacts on the neighbouring ancient woodland.  We are in the midst of our campaign to save Margam Woods from a similar fate.  And in Wales the woods at Pont-Henri are at risk for being lost forever, and we will have more on what you can do to help us here shortly.  

One case where your support can really help is a current case featuring our own woods, Cwm George and Case Hill Woods – again in Wales - which are threatened by plans at Wenvoe Quarry.   Happily (let’s be positive), this gives you another chance to speak up for woodlands as you can still object and help us protect them. 

Thank you for all your efforts in fighting for ancient woodland with us so far – we just need you to keep it up! A key opportunity to do this is Blog Action Day, the uniting of bloggers a single issue on a single day and this year ahead of Copenhagen Climate Change is the subject of choice. Our Woods under Threat cases show that climate change is not being taken seriously enough and that ancient woodland is still being destroyed – we need you to add your voice to the debate.

Trust responds to misleading BBC article

The truth behind Roehoe Wood being ‘moved’ to accommodate the A46 widening.

There are a number of issues in the recent article that appeared on the BBC news website which we wish to address.

Entitled ‘Woodland Moved Out Of Road’s Path’, the article referred to an area of ancient woodland in Nottinghamshire “being dug up and moved 200 metres to make way for a new dual carriageway” as part of Highways Agency plans to widen the A46.

This process described, commonly known as  ‘Habitat Translocation’, has long been regarded by the Woodland Trust as a wholly inappropriate process to carry out on ancient woodland and one lacking in scientific research and consensus.

We also understand from the Highways Agency that all the trees will be coppiced prior to their removal, and moved along with the topsoil. The coppicing process will remove the protection of the tree canopy from any woodland plants that are transferred along with the topsoil, which are often specialised to low light levels. The soil structure will be destroyed in the transferral process and will be vulnerable to erosion before the trees are regrown. It is also important to point out that the age of the trees is immaterial – ancient woodland is characterised by the continuity and stability of habitat; trees are just one component of this and can be of any age.

As such we feel that the article featuring the Highways Agency and the translocation of Roehoe Wood is misleading and factually incorrect.  The Trust has asked that our response to this action could also be covered in the media in order to clear up any misunderstanding about translocation that may arise from the initial article. 

The Woodland Trust statement:
A key aim of the Woodland Trust is to ensure no further loss of ancient woodland and we are opposed in principle to development which results in the degradation or destruction of this precious and unique habitat.

We do not believe that the loss of ancient woodland can be mitigated. We were therefore appalled to hear that ancient woodland has been ‘moved’ to accommodate the widening of the A46 (Widmerpool in Leicestershire), as detailed in the aforementioned article and covered on local BBC evening news.

Ancient woodland is about more than just the trees and animals that you can see. What makes ancient woodland so special are the numerous interactions between the trees and the microscopic fungi that live in the soil or the minute insects that inhabit the crevices in the bark – few (if any) of these will survive the complete removal of all the trees and the massive upheaval involved in the digging up and dumping of soil from one spot to another.

Ancient woodland is so special, so culturally and ecologically valuable because of its continuity as a habitat and its undisturbed nature. It is not possible to re-create ancient woodland, it is irreplaceable. 

It is impossible and unrealistic to hope that, by digging up and relocating these previously undisturbed soils, the valuable assets of ancient woodland will be preserved. Whilst certain habitats and species are suited to translocation and enjoy some success, ancient woodland is particularly unsuited to translocation due to its longevity.

Scientific research is does not support the success of ‘habitat translocation’.  The best that we can hope for in this case is the re-establishment of a relatively natural woodland – but this in itself will take 100’s of years to achieve due to the long life cycle of a woodland, and cannot equal the value of the ancient woodland lost.

Please read our formal position on ancient woodland and translocation (pdf) to find out more.

We can’t lose the public forest estate

The Forestry Commission in England wants to hear your opinions on the forests and woods that it owns. 

 Do you live close to a Forestry Commission-owned wood? Do you enjoy visiting well-known sites like Sherwood Forest and the Forest of Dean when on holiday or for days out?

The Forestry Commission (FC) is waiting to hear your views on the long-term role of the forests and woods it owns. We would like to encourage as many of our supporters as possible to respond to this consultation.  Our public forests are a massive asset to us all and are crucial to the protection, restoration and expansion of native woods in the future.

Please add your voice to this very important consultation, and give your backing to the Trust’s input (below).  The deadline for your response is Monday 28th September.

The Commission is the largest single owner of woodland in England and its estate covers 258,000 hectares (600,000 acres)  spread over 1500 woods.  If you live close to one (and there is a good chance that you do) then you are a stakeholder in its future and your input could help to make sure it remains within the public estate.  But even if you are not close to a FC-owned wood yourself, if you believe as we do that forests and woods in public ownership are an important national asset then now is the time to have your say in their future!

The consultation was launched as part of a study into the long term role of the public forest estate in England.  In other words it is looking at what public forests are for.  Surprisingly, this is the first time this has been asked. The Woodland Trust supports the Commission’s objective to make sure that this massive asset delivers public benefits even more effectively than it does now – especially at a time of such massive social, environmental and economic change.

Below are some of our key points which may help you when responding.

The Woodland Trust’s Top 3 points: 

1. Public forests must focus on providing public benefits. They are no longer solely about producing timber; forests owned by the nation must serve the nation’s needs and respond to change.
2. Therefore the clear priorities for the public forest estate include helping to mitigate and adapt to climate change, helping meet the water quality objectives of the Water Framework Directive, creating new woods close to people by taking  part in the planning of new communities, enhancing the quality of life for residents of existing communities, and providing recreational facilities with health and educational benefits.  The estate should focus on conserving the very best of woodland biodiversity and wooded landscapes, including the restoration of planted ancient woodland sites (PAWS) and semi-natural open-ground habitats.
3. We know that this requires money. Some of the Commissions’s forests are remote and provide little public benefit and focus still on timber production. To create funds to invest in delivery of more public benefit at the point  need,  why not transfer those assets permanently or in the medium term to those who specialise in timber production, subject to specific safeguards.

What  you can do to help:

There are 3 ways you can take part in this public consultation.  Please add your own views – and if you agree with us then we will be grateful if you include your support for our points above as well. Depending on how much you know about the Forestry Commission you may have more to add to one than the other, but please do one of the following by 28th September:

1. Complete this simple online questionnaire - or ask for a hard copy from  your local FC office and send it back
2. Write a brief letter to the Commission about how you feel using the key points given above
3. Go online to http://www.forestry.gov.uk/england-estatestudy  and download the document - questions 1-11 are relevant to every day users of the public forest estate

Thank you! To keep up to date with the latest news on this and our other campaigns, sign up.

PS: by filling in the brief FC questionnaire you could also be one of 5 winners, who can choose between a pair of tickets for a concert of your choice from the 2010 Live Music programme, or a 12 month season ticket to the Forestry Commission England venue of your choice!

All-new discussion space gets our Facebook fans talking!

Exploring what social networking sites have to offer has been an interesting way for us to reach new and different audiences with our campaign messages. At this stage, our new media of choice is Facebook. And as our pages speed towards almost 1,000 ‘friends’ between them, we are seeing more interaction from people who care about woods and trees, or are worried about the woods in their neighbourhoods.

Our WoodWatch Facebook page can be an especially useful tool for spreading the word quickly about your campaign or for asking other people what they know about an issue you have heard about. It can be great for targeting specific geographical areas of the UK with messages about local woods at risk and sharing photos and videos of your activities.

There are 3 different ways you can talk to the Campaigns team on Facebook:

1. Become a fan of our Campaigns page – for updates and actions you can take to support the Trust’s campaigning work to protect the UK’s woods and trees;
2. Join us as a fan on our WoodWatch page – to meet other WoodWatchers, share experiences and promote your local campaigns;
3. Make friends with Oak Tree – the world’s first ‘twittering’ tree, now newly on Facebook and looking for some pals!

Our new WoodWatch discussion boards have brought up topics such as trees alongside railways, funghi decline and local woods under threat issues… What do you want to talk about?

Join us!
Are you on facebook already? Search for these usernames below and choose ‘become a fan’ to add us to your friends and group pages.

If you, like Oak Tree, are new to Facebook simply visit this link below and create a short profile:

http://www.facebook.com/

Then go get some friends! Search for the usernames below (or click the text to go straight to each page)     

woodlandtrustcampaigns    

woodwatch

twitteringtree

 

Shetland wind

Last week, the Woods under Threat Team objected to the proposed Viking Windfarm in Shetland.

This massive 150 turbine proposal is situated on Mainland Shetland and would be connected to Scotland via a sub-sea cable. Other objectors to the scheme include Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, the RSPB, the John Muir Trust and Sustainable Shetland.

 Shetland is not well known for its woodland resource. Our concern about this application is that the development proposed threatens both relict native woodland and also the small amount of plantation woodland which exists on Mainland Shetland. In particular, several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which contain woodland features are found both within the application boundary and close to it. These woodlands are not on the Ancient Woodland Inventory or on any historical maps as they consist of tiny areas of scrub, often seriously overgrazed and hanging on in gullies and streams – SNH class it as relict scrub in the SSSI statements – these may be a remnant of the woodlands which once existed in Shetland and disappeared 2-3,000 years ago for unknown, climatic or anthropogenic reasons. As a habitat this seems incredibly rare, with four mentioned examples. A Woodland Habitat Action Plan is in place , which is trying to propagate from these few trees and protect from further losses.

 The development of the windfarm may pose a threat to these high conservation woodlands due to quarrying, changes in sedimentation and hydrology and the risk of peat slides, and they do not appear to have been fully assessed within the Environmental Statement (ES).

Shetland. Photo WTPL (click to enlarge)

The threat to the plantation woodland at Kergord SSSI; this is planted with mainly non-native tree species and has ecological interest, with some ancient woodland indicator species and lots of fungi,  it’s also one fo the few amenity woodlands on Shetland. This SSSI is barely mentioned in the Windfarm ES, but the valley it sits in will be the route off-island for the undersea cable. The cable itself will be dealt with in another application, and will probably pop up on mainland Scotland somewhere near Portgordon (near Spey Bay in Moray) and cross land to Blackhillock substation. Several woods, some ancient are found within the proposed route. Without the windfarm this cable is not needed.

We believe that for a scheme of this scale, a Local Public Inquiry must be held to examine the issues in more detail. Also, as the associated substations and sub-sea cable are necessary to enable this development, they and their environmental impact must also be considered in the same process. It is imperative that the remaining fragments of woodland that exist on Shetland are protected from disturbance and any possible damage.

Sign up to our campaign updates here.

Ancient woodland is on tour!

In the last decade 100 square miles (26,000 hectares) of ancient woodland in the UK has come under threat from destruction or degradation, equivalent to an area the size of Birmingham.  At over 400 years old ancient woodland is our equivalent to the rainforest, so you’d think it was considered to be as precious: yet every week our team learns of yet another threat.  The ‘Ancient Woodland Farewell Tour’ aims to highlight the serious loss of ancient woodland that we are still experiencing across the UK. 

Forced from their home by plans for a second runway at Stansted, the ‘trees’ of ancient Philipland Wood have taken to the streets in despair.  They have been travelling around the country to find a safe wood to live in… only to find woods are under threat everywhere they go!  

Have you seen this tree?

Our trees realise they urgently need help to protect today’s woods from a similar dreadful fate.  They will be talking to all the new friends they meet on their travels and asking them to be ‘WoodWatchers’ – WoodWatchers are people who keep an eye out for their local woods and trees and are ready to take action to protect them when they are threatened: think neighbourhood watch… only for woods and trees.  In fact, think neighbourWood Watch!

As the UK’s most valuable space for wildlife, ancient woodland is home to more rare and threatened species than any other UK habitat and is truly irreplaceable… If you love trees as much as we do then then you can be a WoodWatcher too – sign up on Facebook and find out more our website.

Government’s low carbon plan is a step forward for woodland creation

Some good news to report from the government’s low carbon plans!

 The importance of creating  new woodland has taken a step forward in public policy terms in England this week – yesterday (Wed 15 July) the Government launched their Low Carbon Transition Plan which details Government plans to reduce our carbon emissions.  In it there is a very positive section about woodland creation which is a real shift in emphasis compared with other statements about woodland creation in England made over the past 2-3 years.

In summary, the woodland section in the Plan says that woodland creation is a cost effective way of tackling climate change, that it also provides a raft of other benefits, and that if we achieved 10,000 ha per annum of new planting 50 million tonnes of carbon could be stored. By not planting more woods our ability to store carbon will fall.  Private finance is seen as the way forward in accelerating woodland creation – no surprise that government money won’t be forthcoming but our newly launched Woodland Carbon product is the perfect way to engage companies in generating such funds.

Enjoying one of our woodland creation sites at Londonthorpe Wood. Photo: WTPL/Fiona Granger.

What was particularly exciting for us was that the plan was launched on the same day that we held a major woodland creation reception at Westminster, kindly hosted by Peter Luff MP!  

Of course this is but one step forward on the road to achieving our ambitions but this announcement signals a shift in the way woodland creation is perceived in England and can only help us in our advocacy, fundraising and outreach work.  While we can’t  claim direct credit for this timely Government announcement I’d like to think that our constant engagement with FC on woodland creation over the past 3-5 years had some effect and this government document represents a slightly unexpected but nonetheless visible outcome of our attempts over many years to have woodland creation taken far more seriously.

Pulling the wool over our eyes – Not this time!

At times it can feel a bit like we are not getting the full story when campaigning to protect ancient woodland. This might be from the Local Planning Authority, the developer or the relevant Government Agency – each have been known to push ahead development proposals.

Is this deliberate? The holding of ‘consultation’ periods over Christmas or other public holidays, not fully consulting on changes to plans or even refusing to publicise pertinent environmental impact studies does not give you the greatest faith in the planning process. One can’t help feeling that vital information is being withheld as it would paint too clear a picture of the actual environmental impacts of a development.

Gathering geological data along the road footprint (May 2009) - before planning permission has been granted!". Photo: WTPL

Well, it seems that other people also feel this too – so much so that the local group we are working with to save ancient woodland from the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR - where over fifteen ancient and long-established woodlands are threatened) has challenged the Scottish Government under a little-known piece of European legislation, the Aarhus Convention.

The UNECE ‘Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters’, usually known as the Aarhus Convention, was signed in 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus and came into force in 2001.  It was designed to focus on the relationship between people and governments linking environmental rights and human rights, rather than on technical habitat designations.

This is a new kind of environmental agreement which:

• acknowledges that we have an obligation to future generations;
• establishes that sustainable development can be achieved only through the involvement of all stakeholders;
• links government accountability and environmental protection; and
• focuses on interactions between the public and public authorities in a democratic context, and it is forging a new process for public participation in the negotiation and implementation of international agreements.

Road Sense is certainly serious in undertaking this line of action. This challenge makes it clear that the campaign group feels they have not been given adequate access to the environmental information that formed part of the proposals, and that there has not been the opportunity for full public participation in environmental decision-making for the road scheme. Road Sense is trying to address their lack of confidence in the Scottish Government’s planning of the AWPR. They have chosen to use a democratic process that has been put in place for this very reason.

As campaigners, it is motivating to see a new line of challenge being utilised for major infrastructure developments that impact heavily on the environment. It will be interesting to see what the result of this challenge will be, as the outcome may well influence activities that are carried out in future. One welcome improvement would be an improvement in public consultation across the board.  

We wish Road Sense the very best of outcomes for their challenge and will let you know as soon as we hear of the outcome.  Find out more about the Trust’s campaign against the AWPR here.