An area forested since 1600 – as Smithy Wood in Sheffield has been – should not be turned into a motorway service station,surely. But there is little protectionSmithy Wood can be traced back to the 11th century. Long-eared and soprano pipistrelle bats flee among its oaks. Marsh tits, badgers and dingy skipper butterflies fabricate (to make up, invent) their domestic in this ancient woodland, or on green belt surrounding the famously tree-wealthy city of Sheffield.
Twenty acres of this unique wood will be bulldozed to build a pleasantly leafy service station by junction 35 of the M1,if the city council approves a move that could undermine the status of ancient woodland across Britain. additional Motorway Services has enlisted Forbes-Laird Arboricultural Consultancy (Flac) to benefit its application. It claims to “secure ‘impossible’ planning permissions, including in ancient woodland and historic landscapes”. This isn’t an idle boast. Ancient woodland – places proven to have been forested since 1600, or with uniquely wealthy,pesticide-free soils – is under siege. Flac succeeded with a housing application imperilling part of the ancient Bluebell Woods in Kent, and is involved in others.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com