Garden vs Government

RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey is under threat, with Highways England poised to seize 10,000sq m of land for a new junction

MORE than 78,000 people have signed a petition to stop Highways England (HE) from seizing 10,000sq m of land from RHS Garden Wisley, in Surrey, to widen the A3 and improve junction 10 of the M25. This ‘ultimate land grab’ would destroy 500 trees, including one planted by The Queen to mark her Silver Jubilee, five ‘extremely rare’ endangered cultivars and magnificent giant redwood trees. It will also drastically increase air and noise pollution at the flagship RHS garden.

The proposal is one of two options currently being considered by HE. The other option isn’t much better—it would see a proportion of ancient woodland obliterated on the other side of the A3 and the Woodland Trust director of conservation Austin Brady likens the proposed expansion to being stuck ‘between a rock and a hard place, with both suggestions likely to have a huge environmental impact’.

Ancient woodland covers just 2% of the UK’S countryside and is one of its rarest habitats. Currently, the Woodland Trust is fighting more than 720 cases in which ancient woodland is threatened by development, some 150 of which are from roads and railways. Amendments to the National Planning Policy Framework were suggested in the recent Housing White Paper to put ancient woods and trees on a par with other designated habitats, such as national parks, but the Government isn’t due to respond until later this year.

Nevertheless, the RHS is urging HE to widen the A3 on the east side instead, improving access to the 120-year-old garden, which is Grade Ii*-listed and currently receives 1.2 million visitors a year. The organisation points out how little sense there is in destroying trees that are more than 100 years old for a short-sighted road scheme that has ‘a design life of just 15 years’ and ‘would increase air pollution and destroy the habitats of a wide range of wildlife, including birds, moths, badgers, beetles and moles’. Studies show that the 500 threatened RHS trees help to offset the emissions of 19,000 cars each year.

‘Wisley is the UK’S centre of excellence for horticulture and horticultural science,’ says RHS Ambassador Alan Titchmarsh. ‘This potential garden-grabbing plan would be another unacceptable example of this Government’s poor perception of horticulture and lack of appreciation of the vital role that plants play for the environment, for the nation’s health and well-being and for the UK economy. I’m calling on the country’s army of 27 million gardeners to make it known that a disregard for these important trees and lack of appreciation of the national importance of this garden would not be acceptable.’

‘We’re currently investing more than £70 million into RHS Garden Wisley in horticulture, new laboratories, learning buildings and visitor facilities, making the garden an even more important centre for science and a better place to visit,’ adds RHS director general Sue Biggs. COUNTRY LIFE Gardens Editor Kathryn Bradley-hole concludes: ‘The beauty, peacefulness and educational value of Wisley gardens cannot be over-emphasised. It’s vital that an alternative solution is found.’ Visit www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley for further information and to sign the petition.