Tree preservation order slapped on HS2

Buckinghamshire Council has served HS2 Ltd with a tree preservation order to prevent any more felling in Sheephouse Wood, a 141-acre designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) east of Charndon.

In recent weeks Buckinghamshire Council has become aware of HS2 cutting back trees in Sheephouse Wood. On making enquiries, it was told that the work was required to protect an 850-metre long bat mitigation structure that will run alongside the railway line, and that permission had been granted by Natural England.

According to the council, HS2’s environmental statement makes no mention of works in this  SSSI. 

Councillor Peter Martin, deputy cabinet member for HS2 at Buckinghamshire Council, said: “Part of the agreement we have with HS2 Limited is for ‘effective collaboration’. Despite this understanding, when we asked HS2 for more information and detail about what they are doing at Sheephouse Wood, they have not satisfactorily answered our questions or engaged in any depth about their plans. We need to know more about their rationale for cutting down irreplaceable ancient trees and as they are unwilling to provide any more detail we have no choice but to serve a tree preservation order (TPO) on HS2 to protect this ancient woodland.”

“The TPO… will ensure the trees cannot be touched for up to six months and will give us more time to discuss with HS2 why they believe such brutal action is warranted, identify alternative options and to mitigate the impact of their works.  Preventing the loss of even just one tree in an ancient woodland is worth fighting for.”

A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said: “At Sheephouse Wood, we have assent from Natural England to make some limited changes to the western edge of the wood. This includes pruning and the removal of a small number of trees that are at risk of falling within the railway area – and the planting of a wider range of smaller trees and shrubs to improve biodiversity. At the council’s request, we paused work two weeks ago to address their concerns and will continue to engage with them to explain why this work is necessary.”

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