The wind without the willows... Wild Wood under threat
going to cut down half the wood and poison the rest. This is arrogant behaviour and is diametrically opposed to their mandate, as this is a conservation area within an area of special landscape importance.
was written nearby, and it is painful to witness such high-handed behaviour.”
Many residents fear the removal of the trees will leave their homes exposed to more noise and intrusion from visitors and traffic. Grahame wrote
featuring the adventures of Rat, Mole, Mr Badger and Mr Toad in and around “Wild Wood” and the river bank. He drew inspiration from the area around the home at Cookham Dean where he had been raised by his grandmother.
The row over Winter Hill comes at a delicate time for the National Trust.
Earlier this week the charity was accused of “autocratic and out-of-touch behaviour” by Lord Patten of Barnes during a Lords debate. The trust has recently come under fire over its decision to buy more than 300 acres of farmland in the Lake District without the accompanying farmhouse. Critics say this threatens a flock of rare Herdwick sheep. It was also criticised after a leaked memo revealed a proposal to alter the path of the Derwent to relieve flooding risks. The trust said its plan was only to remove many of the smaller trees on the upper half of Winter Hill, keeping the cover around the homes along the bottom.
It said: “Some of our most threatened species are those that rely on other habitats. We will, after several years, get a beautiful band of grassland colonised by orchids, butterflies and other invertebrates.”