Representation by The Woodland Trust (The Woodland Trust)
- Date submitted
- 22 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Thank you for the opportunity to register as an interested party for the proposed scheme. The Woodland Trust strongly opposes the loss of T486, a veteran oak tree that is set to be felled for the proposed project. We request that the applicants explore further opportunities to retain T486 during construction and ensure adequate protection in line with the standing advice of Natural England and the Forestry Commission. This advice specifies that for ancient or veteran trees, the buffer zone should be at least 15 times larger than the tree's diameter. If the area covered by the tree's canopy exceeds 15 times its diameter, the buffer zone should be five meters from the edge of the canopy. This ensures a minimum root protection area. If other impacts are expected to extend beyond this distance, a larger buffer zone will be necessary. We also remain concerned regarding potential detrimental impact to ancient woodland from predicted increases in nitrogen deposition (Chapter 9; 9.155), and ask that further mitigation measures are considered to ensure indirect impacts are fully avoided. We hope our comments are of use to you.