21 February 2007
You can help us save Pencoedtre Wood!
The Woodland Trust is urging supporters to contact Vale of Glamorgan Council to object to plans to bulldoze 10 hectares (nearly 25 acres) of ancient woodland near Barry to make way for factory units and housing.
To do this, simply download our draft letter, ideally amend it slightly to make it more personal and then either post it to the address on the letter, or email it to: planning&transport@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk (NB: Because the Planning Dept's e-mail address includes an "&", it will not be enough simply to click on the address. You will have to generate an email yourself, and then paste in the email address manually).
Below, by special permission from the magazine Natur Cymru, is a shortened version of an article about the case by the Woodand Trust’s Rory Francis, which is appearing in the magazine. The article contains the very positive news that the CCW are proceeding with their evaluation of the wood with a view to designating the land as an SSSI. Natur Cymru aims to promote the exchange of information about biodiversity in Wales and encourage debate. More information about subscribing is available from its website
STOP PRESS: While this article may still be of interest, Pencoedtre Wood was effectively saved from destruction in February 2008 when the Vale of Glamorgan Council rejected this planning application. More details here...
Eleventh hour campaign to save Barry beauty spot
Local community rallies round to save ancient woodland
Neil Coleman has a battle on his hands. Along with around 20 other Barry residents, he’s set up an action group to protect Bluebell Wood, also known as Pencoedtre, a much loved local beauty spot and an irreplaceable part of the Vale of Glamorgan’s heritage.
If the developers get their way a total of 10 hectares of this 18 hectare ancient woodland will be developed for housing and industrial units. And what remains will no longer be a complete, functioning habitat, but little more than a buffer zone between different areas of development, with all the noise, light, pollution and general intrusion that that implies.
Pencoedtre Wood is typical of much of our ancient woodland in Wales. It is believed to date from at least 1600 AD and is included in the provisional inventory of ancient woodland public in the early 1990s. Like 25,000 hectares of other ancient woodlands in Wales, it was planted with conifers in the 20th century, threatening its very special ancient woodland characteristics. But thankfully, the native trees and flowers were never wiped out and have survived well, as we shall see, and the wood appears today an ancient wood with some conifers present, rather than monoculture of conifers.
“I thought that this sort of thing wasn’t supposed to happen any more”, says Neil Coleman. “We read in the newspapers about how special ancient woodland is and how it’s supposed to be protected from developments like this.”
But in many ways, Pencoedtre Wood was the one that got away. The land was allocated for development in a local plan some years ago, but it was never actually built on. In 2002, under Environment Minister Sue Essex, the Welsh Assembly adopted a new far-sighted policy which recognised that: “Ancient and semi-natural woodlands are irreplaceable habitats of high biodiversity value which should be protected from development that would result in significant damage.” But because Pencoedtre had managed to get into the development pipeline, it became very difficult to get it out again!
Coed Cadw (the Woodland Trust), who now take a proactive role in defending ancient woodland that has survived from planning development, have been aware of the risk to Pencoedtre. We have pointed out that Welsh planning policies have changed, and that the Council cannot just ignore this.
A break-through, of sorts, came with the publishing of the Vale of Glamorgan’s Unitary Development Plan in 2005. Like its predecessors, the Plan still allocated Pencoedtre Wood for development, but it included crucial proviso that there had be an ecological survey of the site before any planning application was approved.
That meant that when an application was submitted, the Council commissioned the ecological consultants Ecotech to do a full survey of the site. The work was done, and a very thorough and professional job it was too. It confirmed clearly that the wood is ancient and of very high ecological value, rebutting suggestions to the contrary by the developers. The habitat survey found no less than 46 different plant species that are specifically associated with ancient woodland, including greater butterfly orchid, wood sorrel and dogs mercury. In total, 126 different species of vascular plants were found, as well as 71 different kinds of mosses and liverworts and 22 bird species.
Indeed, the report is so clear in stressing the ecological value of the Pencoedtre Wood that the CCW is now undertaking an evaluation of the woodland’s importance in the national context, a process which may lead to its notification as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This is a unusual occurrence these days and makes clear just how important a case this is.
Seizing on this opportunity, the Woodland Trust launched a campaign to save the wood, highlighting the issue in the local press and contacting our own members in the area. Largely as a result of this, over 300 individual letters of objection were sent to the local council.
The campaign helped to get things going in the local community. Realising that the fate of a much-loved beauty spot hung in the balance, local people got together to set up an action group to defend the wood, delivering leaflets door-to-door to let people know what was happening, setting up a stall in Barry, organising a petition to the National Assembly and encouraging more people to object to the planning application.
Local Councillors Chris Franks and Keith Stockwell launched their own campaign to save the woodland, writing letters to the local press in July 2006, pointing out a further irony regarding Pencoedtre. While the Assembly Government is committed to protecting ancient woodland, they said: “The Forestry Commission manages this land on behalf of the Assembly Government. It is the Forestry Commission that is now trying to cut down much of the woodland for housing.” Indeed, Cardiff based consultants Harmers Limited have submitted the application on behalf of the Forestry Commission (who lease the land) and the private owners.
A FC Wales spokesperson said its support for a development, in line with local authority planning policies, extended back more than 20 years and preceded the Assembly’s revised guidelines. However, the organisation always considered the wider context and would adapt its plans if circumstances were to change.
As of January 2007 the wood is still very much under threat. It is quite possible that it might not be designated as SSSI and that the Vale of Glamorgan Council might cave in and allow the wood to be destroyed. You can still help the campaign by writing to object to the planning application – see the top of this page.
Very many individuals and organisations have thrown their weight behind the campaign to save Pencoedtre Wood. But perhaps the most striking contribution comes from one of the younger local residents. In summer last year, the Barry News reported: “Ten year old Joshua Callis, who lives on the Pencoedtre Estate, has taken up the cause”, adding that he is looking to get his friends involved in saving the area.
“His mum said: ‘Joshua has learning difficulties, but he really cares about the environment and wants to help. He wants to mount a silent demonstration with his friends and I think he’d tie himself to a tree if needs be! I’m very proud of Joshua and I’m proud that he’s being so vigilant about something being done on his doorstep.’”
Rory Francis
