A plea for the trees

Richard Wyatt

The image above was taken in Friary Wood near Hinton Charterhouse. It represents what follower Penny Williamson describes as a ‘serious issue’ which has caused her to email bathnewseum.

She writes:

I have quite a serious issue where I live in Friary Wood. Would you be able to give any oxygen to the petition I have started?

BANES are rolling over on their backs to the almighty Forestry Commission, despite their climate change emergency policy and despite the fact that the FC are going against the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (which is rather unbelievable in itself!) in allowing up to 54% of this ancient woodland to be cut down.”

Here is the link:

https://www.change.org/p/request-a-tree-preservation-order-on-friary-wood

I asked if the image she sent me was genuine. Penny told me:

“Yes, Richard, it is. They have been carting away stands this size for weeks – and also last year. It’s a monstrous loss of carbon sequestration.

The photo on the petition shows what some of the woodland looks like where there is a footpath. But much of the work is well away from footpaths and the public eye.

I was on ITV 6 pm news last Tuesday talking about it, but they edited it down a lot and lost some of my points about this being bonkers when we are so concerned about climate change and rare species protection.

I’m so grateful. We want BANES to sit up and take notice and issue a TPO when the current licence runs out – if not before…..”

Thanks, Penny. You obviously feel very strongly about this. I leave my followers to click on the link and decide for themselves whether to support you.

Published by Richard Wyatt

Freelance Journalist, broadcaster, columnist and local historian. Director of Bath Newseum. Married and lives in Bath. Interested in local history, architecture and visual display in museums and urban spaces.

3 Comments

  1. There has to be more to this story. The Forestry Commission can’t simply cut down ancient woodland.

  2. I’m also puzzled by this. The Forestry Commission is part of the Local Nature Partnership for the West of England. Other members include Avon Wildlife Trust, Forest of Avon and other nature groups. Why haven’t they stepped in, if something is wrong? A lot of woodland is having to be cleared due to disease, such as at Browne’s Folly and on Roundway Down above Devizes, so I’d just like to know a bit more about why the wood is being cleared before wading in to condemn it. Perhaps it would be worth the Bath Newseum contacting the Local Nature Partnership for more information.

  3. I too was alarmed to see this so I investigated who owns Friary Wood. It appears it falls under the Iford Manor estate. They are aware of the local petition calling for a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) at Friary Wood and have issued a public statement on their website sharing their long-term plan for the wood and their ongoing commitment to ‘deliberately shifting Friary Wood away from its historic commercial uses and nurturing it into a permanent, thriving sanctuary for nature’. You can read the statement here: https://www.ifordmanor.co.uk/estate

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