Save Oaken Wood
By Arlene
4 comments
I have just had an urgent e mail from the Woodland Trust about Oaken Wood which is ancient Woodland but is in danger of being “redeveloped”!!!ie chopped down ~
since the planning laws have been relaxed this will happen more and more and our trees and forests will disappear.
See below from the Woodland Trust
Oaken Wood SOS!
On May 10th planning permission was granted to expand Hermitage Quarry and destroy ancient Oaken Wood.
We have called on your support throughout this campaign and you have responded magnificently – thank you.
Please help to strengthen our last ask to protect Oaken Wood by writing to Eric Pickles, Secretary of State and asking him to call in the planning application for further scrutiny.
Write to Eric PicklesIf you can find the time to write just one more letter, together we can create a sliver of hope.
if you live locally to Oaken Wood
Oaken Wood falls within three constituencies; Maidstone and The Weald, Chatham and Aylesford and also Tonbridge and Malling. Check my constituency.
If you live within these constituencies please also contact your MP to ask for their support in bringing this to the attention of Mr Pickles.
Time is tight: within 21 days we could see Oaken Wood lost forever… unless we work together to convince Eric Pickles to ‘call in’ this application!
Why bother? We have written twice already!
Because this expansion is not included in the Local Minerals Plan for the area, the application is known as a ‘departure’ from the local plan.
Planning rules state that the Secretary of State must consider this application, due to the departure and can decide to call the application in. This means the application will be decided through public inquiry, giving an indepth scrutiny of Gallagher’s arguments for the development.
The fate of 81.5 acres of wildlife-rich ancient woodland lies in his hands.
Kent County Council’s Planning Committee concluded that the direct loss of this irreplaceable habitat and the negative impact on the local wildlife site were outweighed by the ‘benefits of the project’. Once again, loopholes in ancient woodland protection will result in the destruction of our beautiful ‘heritage’.
We disagree that this application validates this loophole. An independent expert has analysed the need for this quarry and concluded there is none. Furthermore national policy on minerals gives a presumption against loss of ancient woodland. We need to highlight this to Eric Pickles.
There is still hope for Oaken Wood
many thanks
Arlene
17 May, 2011
3 likes
More blog posts by Arlene
Previous post: a walk with Harvey~
Comments
absolutely!!!~ I don't live in the area but he needs to know that the whole of the UK will be looking at every decision he makes that gets pushed up to him which affects the wildlife of the UK as a whole. I don't think the local councils take the environment seriously enough!!
I have already sent off my email~ post the link into your heading and it should take you onto their site~you personalise with your name and address and then send!!
I had heard that a lot of golf courses will be using this to get rid of trees they don't want~one of the local ones has completely stripped out every bit of wood on their course!!!
17 May, 2011
Thanks for drawing my attention to this, Arlene. I am not in the constituencies but live in Kent and feel we have suffered enough with the Channel Tunnel etc.
19 May, 2011
Now with this new train they are going to chop up 4 that are over 400 years old when will they stop I wonder.
11 Jan, 2012
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25 Jan, 2011
Arlene I find this an absolutely abominable act to destroy any of our remaining forest for whatever reason.
Do you think it would do any good if we wrote to Eric Pickles even though we do not reside in the area.
17 May, 2011