My Lords, as someone who has lived all his life with trees, I feel that this afternoon’s debate has suddenly taken off. We are talking about buildings and planning, which is interesting but some could think a tad dry from time to time, but trees come into the picture and one wonders why. However, we should be talking about trees and buildings because they should live together. Look at New Palace Yard and the catalpa trees; look at Tate Britain and the plane trees.
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The words of the noble Lord, Lord Judd, were absolutely inspiring and I will not try to add to them. The noble Lord, Lord Cameron, described trees as irreplaceable and compared them to Wells Cathedral. The Duke of Somerset has now detailed all that trees do: thankfully we have at long last come to appreciate that. Although there is now a general welcome and growing awareness of the huge benefits that trees and woodland bring to both town and countryside, there is still a marked reluctance on the part of Government to give ancient woodlands the same status as buildings. These woodlands, with all they stand for historically—as has been mentioned—and all they bring to modern life, should be given the same level of protection as designated heritage assets within the built environment. Their uniqueness is not just the trees but the soil structure and the flora and fauna associated with them which, as has been said, are absolutely irreplaceable.
Ancient woodlands are, quite simply, nature’s cathedrals and need to be accorded the same protection as the built heritage. I am very grateful to the Woodland Trust, which knows exactly what it is talking about and produces some excellent documents. Its briefings are superb and one of them states that, at the moment,
“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 outweighs the loss’”.
The amendment provides that permission should be refused,
“for any development which may result in the loss or deterioration of ancient woodland, and the loss of aged or veteran trees found outside ancient woodland, unless the need for, and benefits of, the development in that location”—
and this is the point—
“are wholly exceptional”.
That is what we are after.
In order to do this properly, every local authority ought to hold a register, and a map, of all its ancient woodland and, if possible, its veteran trees, so any developer will know in advance where they are and make his plans accordingly. I draw to the Committee’s attention the Woodland Trust’s document, which is very helpful. It mentions every single parliamentary constituency with its ancient woodlands under threat, and the veteran trees in it. I hope every planning office has a copy of it.
I used to give talks, in this country and abroad, on England’s ancient historic trees. People knew this and would occasionally tell me about a tree I was not aware of. On one occasion I got a phone call saying that a very important tree was in danger: it was in Wakefield high-security prison and I ought to get
there, see what was going on and try to save it. I got permission from the Home Office to go and have a look. Officials took me to the back where there was a large yard with a little stone circle in the middle. In there was a mulberry tree which was poorly but not terminally ill. I discovered that Wakefield used to be the female prison and the yard was where the prisoners exercised. They were not allowed to speak, so they used to mime:
“Here we go round the mulberry bush on a cold and frosty morning”.
That small anecdote is a good example of how trees are woven into all our lives.
Trees and development can live together with forethought and careful planning, but only if trees and woodland—particularly ancient woodland—are given the status and protection they deserve.