Mass tree planting ‘could ruin Dales’
LANDSCAPE: There are fears that plans to plant millions of trees across the North of England could ruin one of Yorkshire’s National Parks.
Both Labour and Tories made election pledges to plant millions of trees but the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority heard of fears too many trees could ruin the expansive vistas.
THERE ARE fears that plans to introduce millions of trees across the North of England could impinge on the world famous landscapes of one of Yorkshire’s National Parks.
Ahead of the last week’s General Election, the Labour Party stated that it would oversee the introduction of two billion trees by 2040, while the Conservatives pledged an additional 75,000 acres of trees a year would be planted by the end of the next Parliament.
A full meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority heard that while there is widespread support for the planting projects, there are concerns too many trees could ruin the expansive vistas which were the main reason it was designated as an area of national landscape importance in 1954.
One of the authority’s members, Coun Richard Foster, who is also leader of Craven District Council, said the amount of trees which are planned could impact on the park’s historic landscapes of drystone walls, former lead mines and stone field barns.
He said: “One of the main reasons this National Park was designated was for its wide open landscapes and panoramic views.
“I do think we need to be very, very careful, whilst there are certain areas that can easily be planted without causing any problem whatsoever.”
Members heard that while the Forestry Commission has the primary responsibility for woodland schemes, a new Dales woodland strategy was being developed to help control planting. Leading members said even with the strategy, they questioned whether the authority would have much choice on levels of planting and suggested the Government would issue planting “instructions”.
Ian McPherson, the authority’s natural environment champion, said developing the strategy was “not totally straightforward” as planting programmes needed to fit in with the environment.
He added: “For example, we want to get away from the rather traditional Forestry Commission planting of conifers in straight lines and squares on the side of the fells, but the reality is quite a number of those are perfect homes for red squirrels and willow tits. If you do away with those, then you may lose the red squirrel population.”
The authority’s conservation director Gary Smith admitted that he foresaw “a significant debate about the level of woodland planting”.
The authority’s chief executive David Butterworth added while that the Yorkshire Dales has the lowest woodland cover of any National Park in the UK, the speed of tree-planting in the area was among the highest in the UK.
He said the authority “will be watching very closely” to see what happens with the Agriculture Bill and the Environment Bill, as the legislation is critical to the wellbeing of National Parks.
One of the reasons this park was designated was its views. Richard Foster, member of Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority