RHS calls Highways England plan ‘a garden grab’
Alan Titchmarsh joins call to oppose scheme to widen the A3 motorway that may fell acres of woodland
THE Royal Horticultural Society has warned that one of the UK’S most popular gardens faces losing acres of woodland in a “criminal garden grab” by Highways England.
Plans to widen the A3 could result in the loss of 500 trees at RHS Wisley in Surrey, including one planted by the Queen to mark her silver jubilee, and others that are more than 100 years old, it has claimed.
Alan Titchmarsh, RHS ambassador, called on people to “stand together to protect our gardens”.
The RHS said there were two options to widen the A3, one on the road’s east side, and one on the west alongside the century-old garden.
The west option would take out the protective bank of trees which separates the busy road from the field, as well as part of the woodland garden, worsening noise and air pollution.
Five trees identified as “threatened and endangered in cultivation” and giant redwoods would be lost if the scheme went ahead, the charity said. The RHS is urging Highways England to choose the east side, which it said would not take any woodland or fell trees at Wisley. It would also provide better access to the gardens, which welcome 1.2million visitors a year.
Titchmarsh said: “This potential gar- den-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.”
Sue Biggs, RHS director general, said the charity was investing £70 million at the gardens. “It would be criminal for this irreplaceable woodland to be lost when another viable plan would avoid cutting down century-old trees and still meet the important need to widen the A3.”
Highways England said the RHS was presenting the “worst case scenario” of there being no mitigation and insisted that it took its environmental responsibilities “very seriously”.
A spokesman said the current access road to Wisley was “not particularly safe” and often caused queues on the A3. The agency has proposed to build a new access road as part of improvements to junction 10 of the M25.
It is expecting to announce its preferred route within the next month, calling it the “starting gun on the planning process.”
After that, a detailed design will be submitted to the planning inspectorate before another public consultation. Work is not due to start before 2020.