Over 40% of new road schemes across England impact irreplaceable ancient woods
Lead PR Manager
Planned changes to the Government’s transport policy don’t go nearly far enough, with new road schemes causing huge damage to both ancient woodland and veteran and ancient trees, claims the Woodland Trust.
New analysis published by the charity paint a stark picture of new road developments – with 106 ancient woodlands confirmed to be directly or indirectly affected, a further 83 ancient woods predicted to be affected, and 82 ancient and veteran trees felled over a decade of road investment.
With ancient woodland making up less than 3% of the UK’s land mass, the Trust said decisions made now by Government planning chiefs must prioritise protecting irreplaceable habitat.
The Government is giving the public until 6 June 2023 to have its say on the National Networks National Policy Statement (NNNPS) for transport infrastructure projects, but the Woodland Trust says proposed changes to the policy don’t go nearly far enough.
The charity says the draft policy pays “lip service” to addressing the impacts of roads on the climate by requiring carbon assessments for schemes, but then states that emissions on their own aren't a good enough reason to refuse permission for a new road.
Naomi Tilley, Lead Campaigner at the Woodland Trust, said: “While some of the changes made to the National Networks National Policy Statement are welcome, they don’t go far enough. The policy must be updated to fully address the urgent need for joined up action to halt nature decline and reduce carbon emissions.
“Government cannot continue to build schemes that damage or destroy ancient woodland and veteran trees that could be centuries old. And we cannot continue to build roads that result in ever increasing carbon emissions that will accelerate the climate crisis. This approach is not sustainable. Avoiding harm must be at the heart of decisions about development to ensure we do not repeat the devastating mistakes of past projects. This would be real progress.”
Naomi continued: “Visionary policy could transform our future. Progress is putting the environment at its heart. Currently, these policy changes are not visionary, do not put the environment at its heart and have the potential to facilitate the destruction of irreplaceable habitats, worsen nature decline and exacerbate climate change.”
The Woodland Trust has pointed to failings of high-profile major infrastructure projects such as the Lower Thames Crossing proposal which will cut through irreplaceable ancient woodland and veteran trees, and creates eye watering increases in emissions, contributing to the escalation of climate change and nature decline.
And the public agrees - a new YouGov survey, commissioned by the charity, showed that over 80% (81%) of people said that damaging ancient woodland for road infrastructure projects is usually or always unacceptable. And 68% of people said they would feel sad or angry if a large tree in their local area was felled for development.
A whopping 85% of people felt National Government should have responsibility for reducing emissions associated with roads.
The charity said the Government must update the policy to fully address the urgent need for joined up action to halt nature decline and reduce carbon emissions.
Changes to policy that need to be considered must:
- fully protect ancient woods and veteran trees. The proposed improvements don’t go far enough. The policy must improve ancient woods and veteran trees protection as the Government has committed to elsewhere,
- align with UK targets for net zero carbon emissions. Transport should be designed to reduce overall emissions instead of its contribution being disregarded,
- require real community involvement in all project designs, with full transparency about the unavoidable impacts on the environment.
See and comment on the Woodland Trust's campaign's to urge government to update transport policy to ensure there's no further loss of ancient, irreplaceable habitats.
Notes to editors
For more details on this release, contact Andy Bond in the Woodland Trust press office on 07725 480434.
Woodland Trust analysis
43% of major new road schemes across England, supported by the first and second Road Investment Strategies, have confirmed and predicted impacts on irreplaceable ancient woods and veteran trees.
Not all of these schemes will have used the original National Networks National Policy Statement, which was designated (ie adopted) in 2015.
106 ancient woods are confirmed as impacted by roads under Road Investment Strategies 1 and 2. This means that the threat is identified in the scheme’s Environmental Impact Assessments or other publicly available documentation. Predicted impacts on ancient woodlands means we have made an assessment based on information available but cannot fully confirm as the documentation isn’t available.
Both the NNNPS and Road Investment Strategy 3 are currently under consultation. While National Highways are not recommending major new developments in RIS3, the fact schemes such as Lower Thames Crossing continue to receive support despite the impacts is a concern.
YouGov poll
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,012 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 14-15 May 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). See the full survey results.
About the Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK. It has over 500,000 supporters. It wants to see a UK rich in native woods and trees for people and wildlife.
The Trust has three key aims:
- protect ancient woodland, which is rare, unique and irreplaceable
- restore damaged ancient woodland, bringing precious pieces of our natural history back to life
- plant native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care, covering approximately 29,000 hectares. Access to its woods is free so everyone can benefit from woods and trees.