Bring it on!

Update

Thursday 5th November 2009:

After spending 4 days in the re-opened inquiry the team are getting a little frazzled! This week has had highs and lows with us disagreeing with many of points raised by Q Hotel’s ecologist and then finding out that there is still not time to wrap up the evidence in this extended session.

Today we went on a site visit to Broughton Woods where all parties were able to make points about their evidence and it was a really interesting day – lets hope the Inspector found it valuable too. Now Q Hotels have only their planning policy witness left who will cross-examined tomorrow – fingers crossed our barrister and the Council barrister break his defence. After that there will be a final day of the inquiry so that all parties involved gan give their closing statements.

Then there will just be the nerve-racking wait until a decision is given…..

End

Although it only seems two minutes since the Forest Pines Inquiry drew to a close in September, it appears to be starting again next week.

An immense amount has happened since the closure of the inquiry. A couple of weeks ago Q Hotels decided it was a good time to challenge the antiquity of the woodland! Early on in the case this was an issue as the woodland in question was not included on the ancient woodland inventory however, after further investigation by Natural England it was decided that the wood was ancient. Q Hotels were happy with this until a couple of weeks ago when they decided to submitted further evidence into the inquiry claiming that woodland is not ancient after all.

However we are not worried – there is good evidence to back up the antiquity of the wood. Keith Kirby, who is Natural England’s ancient woodland specialist, thinks it is ancient too. Surely this is enough expert opinion to base a decision on! The other thing we have been busy on is fundraising. Originally the Inquiry was only scheduled to last for four days, it soon became apparent that this was not long enough and the Inspector decided that we would reconvene for another five days. This makes the Inquiry twice as long as originally planned – and worryingly nearly twice as expensive!

Broughton Woods under threat from a golf course. Photo Woodland Trust

We have been overwhelmed with the generous support that people have offered us both financially and through objecting to the application making the work we do possible. However the fight is not over yet and if you feel that you can offer further support please visit our appeal page.

As you read this it is most likely that the team are doing some last minute preparations for the inquiry, particularly as Q Hotels are making such a material change to their case. As we had already given our evidence in the first half of the inquiry we were not expecting to have to go back into the witness stand but with such a dramatic change of evidence it looks like we might have be back defending our precious ancient woodland once more.

Bring it on!

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

 

Woodland Trust to fight largest ever UK loss of woodland

We need you to help save irreplaceable ancient woodland in Scotland.

Development plans to build a vast housing and leisure complex threaten to flatten 160 hectares (400 acres) of historic Caledonian forest north west of Perth. A further 240 hectares (600 acres) of associated woodland is also threatened from the plan submitted on a part of the vast Dall Estate, which boasts unique eco systems and rare wildlife formed over hundreds and probably thousands of years.

 The Woodland Trust Scotland has now added its objections to a growing list of dissenters listed with Perth and Kinross Council.

Woodland under threat from a new golf course on the shores of Loch Rannoch

 The South Rannoch woodland lies next to the Black Wood of Rannoch – the most southerly remnant of Caledonian forest in Scotland. Formed at the end of the last Ice Age it is considered to be one of the last remaining wildernesses in the British Isles.

The potential loss of woodland – the size of Regent’s Park and bigger than Hyde Park in London ( over 2 and half times the size of Glasgow’s Pollok Park) – is the biggest amount of threatened ancient woodland the Woodland Trust has ever encountered and has been described by the Woodland Trust as ‘totally ludicrous’.

South Rannoch woodlands are home to a wide variety of wildlife, much of which is not found elsewhere in the British Isles. The ‘Red List’-protected capercaillie, the population of which has declined so rapidly that it is at very real risk of extinction, is found in the woodland, together with the equally rare black grouse  - one of the most rapidly declining bird species in the UK.

Other important dependent species include bats, red squirrels, wood ants and golden eagles.

 “The Woodland Trust Scotland has submitted its objection to the plans. The proposals will effectively pour concrete over this habitat, destroying the valuable wildlife within and isolating the Black Wood of Rannoch even further”, says Andrew Fairbairn, Policy and Communications Manager Woodland Trust Scotland.

 “It is disappointing that, in this day and age, with so much more awareness of the importance of protecting the natural environment that a developer can propose something so damaging and ludicrous that would result in thousands of years of evolution being lost forever.

 “Ancient Woodland is an irreplaceable habitat and there has been no attempt to minimise the damage to it, it will just be razed to the ground if this goes ahead.”

 He continues “We call on Perth and Kinross council to throw out this planning application, due to the totally unacceptable level of environmental vandalism it will cause, and to allow this fragment of the once great forest to remain.”

 Areas of Caledonian Forest covered Scotland but now only small fragments remain. Ancient woodland is the richest habitat for species in the UK, the UK’s equivalent of the rainforest.

Help save this area of historic Caledonian forest from destruction by registering your objection with Perth and Kinross Council. Object online by visiting Perth and Kinross Council planning website then and object by clicking on the ‘leave a comment’ tab (application reference 09/01273/IPM).

Comments will be accepted until 31st August.

It’s a bit like LA Law this week

This week the Woods under Threat team have been battling it out against Q Hotels and their application to build a golf course within ancient woodland near Scunthorpe. The application was originally refused by North Lincolnshire Council back in 2008 but since then Q Hotels appealed against the decision and the application is now being decided through a public inquiry. Find out more about this here.

We are objecting to the hotel expanding their existing golf course and hotel in 81 hectares (201 acres) of ancient woodland. This will result in the direct loss of 33 hectares and then cause irreversible damage to the remaining 44 hectares (109 acres). You can immediately see this is not a small amount of ancient woodland – shockingly it is around 25% of North Lincolnshire’s ancient woodland cover.

As our regular readers will know this is a serious matter as ancient woodland is irreplaceable and as far as we are concerned the need for a golf course does not in any way out weigh the need to protect ancient woodland from development.

It is this belief and the Trust’s aim of no further loss of ancient woodland that has led two of my colleagues to unfalteringly defend the fate of ancient woodland in the witness stand – it was a bit like being in an episode of LA Law. Once we have finished giving our evidence it is over to our colleagues from Friends of the Earth, CPRE and Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust to help explain how important ancient woodland is and how it is not possible to combine it with a golf course.

 The difference between a golf course and ancient woodland is actually quite interesting – although you may be forgiven for not yet realising this! As golf courses generally have lots of nice trees, bits of woodland and green grass it makes you think that it is actually quite a nice place wildlife to live in. Some species may thrive here – the more generalist species that are able to cope with changes in their local environment. However for those more specialist species, such as those found in ancient woodland it is a different story. These types of species are adapted to thrive in conditions in a woodland and when you start to change these – even a little bit they are often not able to change quickly enough to survive and will be out competed by a more aggressive and opportunist species. When you combine this with lots of chemicals applied to keep the course in top playing condition things start to look a little different. Independent research comissioned by the Trust shows startling impacts.

I would like to take this opportunity to say that we are not against golf courses per se – I can assure you that there are a good few Trust staff and members that are avid golfers! We are just aware that when you have something like ancient woodland which is irreplaceable it should be looked after – with only around 2% of the UKs land area being ancient woodland there is plenty of scope for avoiding it.

The public inquiry is set to go on for the rest of the week which will not give enough time to hear Q Hotel’s evidence and as a result the inquiry will re-open in November. We will keep you posted.

If you would like to be kept up to date with our progress at Forest Pines inquiry please sign up to our campaigns newsletter, befriend us on Facebook and tweet with us on Twitter!

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.

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