Councillors meet today
to decide whether to grant
planning permission for an
exploratory oil rig on the
South Downs near
Chichester. Here, Woodland
Trust campaigner Alice
Farr shares her thoughts on
how the thirst for oil is
threatening ancient
woodland.
The Woodland Trust
campaigns tirelessly for the
protection, and no further loss
of, ancient woodland.
At present our thirst for development
on many fronts, from airport
expansion plans, road building,
commercial and housing developments
to mineral extraction, are all
threatening irreplaceable ancient
woodland sites.
We were shocked to hear the
news of another wood in West
Sussex under threat.
What was more worrying was the
type of threat - oil exploration.
Markwells Wood in the small village
of Forestside, to the west of
Chichester, is 11 hectares of ancient
woodland set in the South Downs
area of outstanding natural beauty
(AONB).
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It is now the focus of much debate
after a planning proposal was
announced by Northern Petroleum
to conduct oil exploration there.
Not only is the site within an
AONB but it is irreplaceable
ancient woodland, land that has
been continuously wooded for at
least 400 years and one of the great
glories of our natural heritage.
If this proposal goes ahead, initially,
it will result in the loss of a
hectare of ancient woodland which
is protected under local, regional
and national planning laws.
Should Northern Petroleum find
oil, who knows how much of this
beautiful area will face destruction?
The trust feels this proposal
could be the start of continued and
extended destruction of this site.
Ancient woodland is the richest
habitat for species in the UK, our
equivalent of rainforests.
The majority of species live in
fragile undisturbed ancient soils
but these woods are also home to a
number of species including buzzards,
badgers, foxes, hares, stoats,
weasels and a variety of songbirds.
These species are all likely to be
disturbed by the noise and woodland
destruction that any proposal
would create.
If planning permission is
granted, Northern Petroleum
would have three years on the site
to clear it, cover it in a layer of
stone, set up the tall drilling rig and
search for oil.
After the abandonment of the
well, the site would be cleared,
replanted with trees and shrubs
and undergo a five-year scheme of
aftercare.
So why are these soils so important?
Ancient woodland is probably
the most complex of all habitats and
the most reliant on undisturbed
conditions for its survival, so it is
misleading to indicate this will
compensate in any way for the loss
of this ancient woodland site.
The problem with the proposed
aftercare is that once the rich
ancient soil has been disturbed,
there is no chance of returning it to
its original state.
The undisturbed soils found in
ancient woodland are vital to
ancient woodland's biodiversity.
Northern Petroleum inappropriately
suggests the site can be
restored through storing of the soils
that will be removed during the
construction of the proposal and
then replaced to allow re-establishment
of vegetation through natural
regeneration and replanting.
Many plant species have poor
powers of dispersal and do not
appear to survive in a seed bank so
once lost from a wood they are
extremely slow to return, having
been built up for hundreds of years.
Ancient woodlands are places of
inordinate beauty, reservoirs of evidence
for environmental change,
archaeology and economic history
and a source of inspiration for local
culture and folklore. Our resource
of ancient woodland is finite and
cannot increase so what remains is
precious and irreplaceable.
Markwells Wood is a planted
ancient woodland site (PAWS),
ancient woodland planted with nonnative
species, mostly during the
20th century, with the intention of
providing a strategic timber
reserve.
Research has shown that in
PAWS, remnant historic and
ecological features still survive
among the soil and plantation crop.
These remnants provide vital links
back to the original ancient woodland.
By acting now we can make a
major contribution towards securing
and maintaining some of
Britain's most valuable and threatened
habitats.
The most obvious ancient woodland
remnants commonly surviving
in PAWS are deadwood trees,
understorey shrubs, archaeological
features and woodland plants
which are associated with less obvious
remnants of the ancient woodland
ecosystem such as soils, lower
plants, fungi and invertebrates.
In PAWS their populations are
often depleted and fragmented,
making them especially vulnerable
to disruption. Not only will Northern
Petroleum's initial exploration
have the above implications but the
trust also has concern over the
impact of noise and truck movements
in the protected area, especially
the effects of the 24 hours a
day drilling operation.
A 36m tall drilling rig which will
extend well above the tree-line
threatens to damage the aesthetic
beauty of the area.
Woods like this are irreplaceable
and if we continue to disregard
these green spaces in the hunt for
development there won't be any left
for future generations to enjoy.
The trust is not alone in objecting
to the proposal. Chichester District
Council, the South Downs
Joint Committee, West Sussex
County Council's own landscape
officer and ecologist and the community
are against the plan
because of the long-lasting damaging
effect this would have on the
surrounding area.
For more information on the
Woodland Trust's fight to protect
ancient woodland, visit www.
woodlandtrust.org.uk.
Should progress be at any cost or are we going too far?
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