Government must protect irreplaceable 'green infrastructure' - Woodland Trust
Dr James Cooper, Head of Government Affairs
| Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust's James Cooper responds to Natural England's report into HS2's biodiversity and calls on the Government to better protect the UK's natural heritage in future infrastructure projects.
You could easily have missed it. Published early last Wednesday morning as people were digesting the news of Donald Trump’s election and Parliament was in recess. Eight months after it was ordered by the House of Commons HS2 Select Committee and as the Bill reaches the end of the Lords Select Committee’s scrutiny, the Department of Transport finally released the Natural England report into how HS2 was seeking to achieve its stated aim of no net biodiversity loss.
Why does this matter? Well, apart from the report being an excellent example of Natural England doing what it was established to do – providing expert, independent advice on nature - it backs up what the Woodland Trust has been emphasising throughout the progress of the Bill. Namely, that ancient woodland (land that has been continuously wooded since 1600 and forms the UK’s richest land habitat) is irreplaceable and should not be included in any 'No Net Loss' calculation.
The report argued that its inclusion in such a calculation could give the impression that it was somehow tradeable and went on to argue that a compensation ratio of 30 hectares of new woodland created for every one lost, was an appropriate recognition of its importance – sending out a strong signal that loss needs to be avoided.
It matters enormously because we are now running up to the Autumn Statement and the calls to invest in enhanced infrastructure are stronger than ever as the UK finds itself in more uncertain economic waters (indeed the announcement of the Phase 2 route for HS2 had just been made.) The Conservative manifesto stated that ‘We will build new infrastructure in an environmentally sensitive way’ but if the environmental work carried out by HS2 on the first phase of this project is considered best practice it would put our landscape in grave danger. Nevertheless, rather than accepting this conclusion, the response from the Department for Transport was that the report was ‘a stimulus for debate’.
The Natural England report sets in stone the irreplaceable nature of ancient woodland and that must serve to guide an approach to infrastructure provision that accords it far greater respect (something the Woodland Trust will be emphasising when it appears before the Lords Select Committee on 23 November, on the same day as the Autumn Statement).
People want good infrastructure but they also want strong environmental protection and respect for our natural heritage. Alongside the commitment to build infrastructure in an environmentally sensitive way the Government’s manifesto also committed to a 25 year plan for nature. We expect a framework for consultation around the latter to emerge over the coming weeks. We now know more than we ever have before about the important services nature provides for us ranging from flood alleviation to improved air quality. We need to see an approach from government that shows it truly values our green infrastructure too and recognised the need to invest in protecting the best of what we have and expanding it for the benefit of all.
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