Protection of Ancient Woodland and Trees

Richard Arkless Excerpts

Thursday 10th December 2015 Westminster Hall

[John Mc Nally]

I can give the hon. Gentleman a brief answer, but I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Calum Kerr) will answer that later. The Scottish Government have developed a policy direction for decisions on woodland removal in Scotland and will apply the policy to decisions within the areas of competence. Unlike England, Scotland has an ancient woodland inventory, to which the hon. Member for Taunton Deane referred. We are making progress. There is a lot more information to read, which I advise hon. Members to do. We can all learn lessons from one another. This is not a political matter; it is about doing the best we can.

Within my constituency, more than 7.5% of the ancient woodland is under threat, while more than 40% of constituents live near woodland. That amounts to only 15.6% of woodland, old and new, which is quite scary. However, the quantity of ancient woodland under threat is not the only issue; the irreplaceable nature of that woodland is the significant point. The hon. Member for Taunton Deane mentioned a Fortingall tree earlier of between 3,000 and 3,500 years old, which I have visited many times. It is believed that Pontius Pilate was born underneath it—never let the facts get in the way of the truth. In Scotland, we define ancient woodland as having existed since around 1750 AD, so what takes minutes to cut down takes centuries to grow. The loss is immeasurable; imagine cutting down the Fortingall tree.

Existing protection for ancient woodland is insufficient. The UK Government have stated on many occasions their support for and appreciation of the value of ancient woodland and the need to protect it. In Scotland, as I mentioned, we are making significant efforts to change that and address these problems, although we are not without our problems. Unlike many precious habitats, however, ancient woodland is not a statutory designation in law and therefore suffers from a lack of protection.

The Minister responsible for forestry, the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart), for whom I have a lot of time—he is an excellent guy who knows his brief exceedingly well—recently admitted:

“ancient woodland, as a category, is not a protected category”.

That is quite a statement.

Paragraph 118 of the national planning policy framework allows for the destruction or loss of ancient woodland and aged or veteran trees if

“the need for, and benefits of, the development in that location clearly outweigh the loss”.

That is a total contradiction, because we can never get that woodland back. As a result of that loophole, hundreds of ancient woods and trees are lost or threatened in the planning system every year. Since the NPPF was introduced in March 2012, more than 40 ancient woods across the UK have suffered loss or damage from development. Hundreds more ancient woods are at risk within areas of land allocated for development through site allocations as part of local plans. As admitted by the Forestry Minister under the previous Administration, the Government do not collect data relating to the loss of trees and woods, so a complete picture of the scale of losses in any given year is currently impossible—I totally agree with the hon. Member for Taunton Deane on that.

In December last year, the Select Committee on Communities and Local Government called for ancient woodland to be awarded the same level of protection as designated heritage assets—that includes the house owned by the hon. Member for Taunton Deane. The Committee also called for work to be undertaken to increase the number of ancient woods with statutory designations, to further increase protection. However, in response to the Committee’s report, the Government ruled out changing the wording, arguing that

“existing protection for ancient woodland in the Framework is strong and it is very clear that development of these areas should be avoided.”

Again, that seems a wee bit contradictory. I urge the Government to follow the Communities and Local Government Committee’s recommendations.

In addition to the previously mentioned comments, the Forestry Minister went on to say that

“an enormous amount of our ancient woodland is already protected within our national parks and within AONBs. A lot of it is covered by natural sites under European legislation and a lot of it is protected under SSSI legislation.”

In a response to a parliamentary question on 23 November, corrected on 24 November, the Forestry Minister set out how much ancient woodland is in fact located within designated areas:

“Natural England estimates that 15% of ancient woodland is located within national parks and 30% is located within areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs). In national parks, 29% of this woodland has site of special scientific interest (SSSI) status; in AONBs, 13% of this woodland has SSSI status.”

Unfortunately, while some ancient woodland is indeed located within a national park or area of outstanding natural beauty, that is simply not good enough protection to ensure ancient woodland is not impacted by or lost to development. I absolutely agree with the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake), who mentioned the issue of fracking in such areas.

The HS2 route, as has been mentioned, is a notable example of woodland located within designated areas being threatened by development. Although I do not know it, the Chilterns is an area of outstanding natural beauty, well known throughout the world. Another example provided by the Woodland Trust is a hydroelectric scheme currently being proposed in north Wales at Fairy Glen near Betws-y-Coed—are there any Welsh Members here?

[Richard Arkless (Dumfries and Galloway) (SNP)]

You got away with it.

[John Mc Nally]

Thanks. No one can contradict me.

The scheme threatens to damage the ancient woodland located in the Snowdonia national park. The Cairngorms national park local development plan expressly backs potential development sites that could cause damage to ancient woodland, including at An Camas Mòr, Carrbridge and Nethy Bridge. Indeed, in 2014 the installation of a micro-hydroelectric turbine in the Cairngorms was approved, which could also damage ancient woodland.

I could go on and list more examples of ancient woodlands in designated areas that have been removed or are threatened by development. I think everyone in the room shares the concerns of the hon. Member for Taunton Deane about such matters, and I go along with her too. I am happy to support her as best I possibly can. I had more to say, but I think I have spoken for long enough.

--- Later in debate ---

[Calum Kerr (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (SNP)]

Mr Walker, you have just missed a consensual and uplifting debate. Mr Turner and I sit on the European Scrutiny Committee, and if only that Committee were equally consensual and uplifting on occasion.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow) and my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (John Mc Nally)—he has gone off to catch a train, and not of the high-speed variety—on securing this debate, which has been a most uplifting experience. The hon. Lady kicked us off with a truly evocative and passionate speech that drove home why we are having this debate: the power, beauty and importance of our natural environment. She outlined a powerful case for special recognition for ancient woodland and called for a much more sensible approach.

The good news is that we have an eminently sensible Minister before us today—as the Scottish National party’s DEFRA spokesman, I am used to standing up and making requests of him—although it is unfortunate that the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart), who has responsibility for forests, could not be here today. He is my neighbouring MP, and he has a very valid reason for not being here, because of the level of flooding in his constituency, but I am sure he would be delighted for the Minister, in his absence, to commit him heavily to far greater protection of our ancient woodland. I look forward to the Minister’s positive response.

My hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk told us a lot about his history and the role of woodland in his life and in his community. I sense that he has many a personal story of his courting days beneath the canopy that perhaps might be better exchanged in the Sports and Social than in Westminster Hall, but he made a number of excellent supportive points, including highlighting one or two things that we specifically do in Scotland.

The right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan) gave a wonderful overview of the central role that woodland can play in our communities when protected and fostered. She also highlighted the dangers of HS2 and the impact it could have on our landscape if we get our priorities wrong. She also put in a most excellent, yet shameless, plug for a community cause in her constituency, which is always a good way to end a week in Westminster.

The hon. Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) did something that I would not have thought possible, which was to get Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White into a speech. That set the tone for another excellent, evocative and moving contribution. I apologise to the following two speakers because a different call of nature meant that I missed elements of their speeches. The hon. Member for Cannock Chase (Amanda Milling) made an important point about visiting a woodland site, and those of us who are involved in setting policy should always remember to go and understand the beauty and impact of such environments first hand—I thank her for making that point. I apologise to the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) for missing the start of his speech, but he correctly reflected on the consensual nature of this debate and on the psychological benefits of the very woodland that we are discussing today, regardless of whether we measure it in feet, metres or yards.

Across the country, our ancient woodlands are more than just a component of our landscape; they are part of its very soul. They go beyond living history; as we have heard, their importance to biodiversity makes them part of our breathing history too. Our connection with them is long, deep and emotional. Writing in 1936, slightly before my time, the chronicler Arthur Mee talked of our old trees in the introductory volume to his great book series “The King’s England”:

“Silent sentinels of the simple pageant of our nation’s life, they saw the knight come back from the Holy Land…they gave their bows to the men who fought at Agincourt.”

Those words are of their time, but they convey the affection that we all still feel for our woodlands, which cover 500,000 hectares, or just 2% of the UK. Roughly half that coverage needs restoration to safeguard its cultural and natural heritage for future generations. In Scotland, the geographical area taken up is rather less—1% of the land is covered by native species—but the Scottish tree is just as important and loved as the English, Welsh or Northern Irish one. That reminds me: a Northern Ireland Member asked me to point out—if hon. Members will allow me a slight educational aside—that the wonderful ancient trees that we witness on “Game of Thrones” are in Northern Ireland.

Ancient woodland is just that: very old indeed. As we have heard, the Fortingall yew in Perthshire is perhaps the oldest tree in the UK. Modern experts estimate it to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old, but some think it could be far older, possibly even 5,000 years old. I hope that we never decide to cut it to find out for sure. Our woodlands have been under threat for almost as long as humankind has populated Scotland, or indeed other parts of the UK. By the year 82, at the time of Scotland’s invasion by the Roman legions, at least half had disappeared due to the demands of early agriculture. Since then, weather conditions have been cooler and wetter, meaning that much of the woodland has been replaced by peatland. During the 17th and 18th centuries, many of the remaining woods were heavily exploited for timber, charcoal and tanbark.

It is clear that our ancient woodlands have always faced a fragile and precarious existence. As speakers in this debate have pointed out, the risk of erosion of that valuable heritage continues, most particularly because of urban growth and transport schemes. New road developments and High Speed 2 pose ongoing threats, although the latter does not apply in Scotland. Future high-speed rail in particular may well be damaging; the Woodland Trust suggests that it will result in direct loss to 39 ancient woodlands and damage to 23 sites. Woodlands present remarkably diverse ecosystems, are hugely valued for their wildlife and are of significant cultural value. Plus, of course, they are integral parts of our landscapes and natural vistas of often compelling beauty. Their role in raising the human spirit cannot be underestimated.

It has been estimated that some 28,000 hectares of ancient woodland have been lost since the 1930s. That is a huge impoverishment in every way. The one bit of good news is that it is probably harder than ever for developers and farming interests to exploit our remaining assets. However, it is not impossible, and I sincerely hope that Government plans to allow developers to build in the green belt will not lead to cherry-picking of the best sites and new threats to our woodland heritage. It is also a matter of concern that there is no central Government database of ancient woodland, and that no recent analysis has been undertaken of how much has been lost. That needs to be addressed.

North of the border, forestry is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, and ancient woodland is defined as an area that has been wooded continuously since 1750. As in England, there is no statutory protection, but there is a clear intent to preserve if at all possible.

[Richard Arkless]

Therein lies the difference in approach between the UK and Scotland. In the jurisdiction of Scotland, which prefers statutory certainty to convention and presumption, it is actually a series of conventions and presumptions that give planning authorities more tools to resist the felling of ancient woodlands. The Scottish Government produce planning guidance and a whole range of other documents. Does my hon. Friend agree—I say this in a spirit of cross-party co-operation—that even if the Government are not minded to confer statutory protection on ancient woodlands, there are a series of other techniques that could be used?