Friends restore Belmore Woods and clear footpaths

Over the last few months we have been contacted by many local Thorpe residents who walk in Thorpe Woods, they have been greatly concerned by the mess created in the woods by the felling of trees last November. This felling resulted in large areas of Belmore Woods, including many of the foot paths, being blocked by branches and tree trunks which had been left strewn across the woods by the contractors.

The state of Belmore Woods after the felling last November, many paths were blocked by a thick layer of branches and felled trees.

The Friends of Thorpe Woodlands continue to support managed forestry within the woods as we are keen for them to have a long term sustainable future as a woodland and green lung for the people of Thorpe and Norwich. However the mess left behind by the contractors, as shown in the photo above, is not managed forestry and if left like this would damage the ecosystem of the woods and hinder the ability of local residents to visit and enjoy them, 

Therefore over the Easter weekend a group of the Friends spent an entire day clearing the paths and woodland floor of these branches and tree trunks.

The work started near to the entrance to the woods on Southhill Road and progressed through the woods towards Pound Lane, 

Luckily we were blessed with good weather and a strong turn out from local people. 

Throughout the day people walking their dogs or visiting the woods with their families stopped to talk about how much they valued the woods and how pleased they were to see the paths being cleared and the woods being cared for, many offered to help as volunteers on any future work.

Local families helping to clear the paths

Those working on the day included local families who helped to collect the branches into 5 main piles, and as can be seen from the following photo the woods looked much more like their old selves as a result of this hard work.

Belmore woods after the branches have been cleared from the path and floor and gathered into piles.

The Friends of Thorpe Woodlands always said that they were here for the long term, and we will continue to monitor and care for these woods to ensure that local people can continue to enjoy walking along their paths and wildlife can continue to thrive in them.

More work needs to be done to clear the branches left by last years felling and so please contact us if you would like to help.

Part of Belmore woods after the volunteers have cleared them.

Felling in Belmore Plantation

The owners of Thorpe Woods have recently carried out felling along the edge of the woods that backs on to Booty Road.

As with any felling the work, the felling that is being carried out in Belmore Plantation has to comply with the Felling Licences that have been issued by the Forestry Commission.

We understand that the following is the licence that has been issued by the Forestry Commission in respect of Belmore Plantation and that consequently the owners must adhere to the terms set out in it.

Any felling that is carried out without such as licence or doesn't comply with a licence can result in the Forestry Commission taking action against the parties responsible, Click HERE for more details..

Thorpe Woods in 2014 and what to expect in 2015

The last year has been a highly eventful one for the long campaign to save Thorpe Woods.

Broadland District Council issued its statement in the summer on where it wants to locate development in the area called the Growth Triangle, this is in essence the councils local plan. In its statement it clearly ruled out Thorpe Woods as being in anyway suitable for development, reasons for this included the following:

1.There was no need to consider them for development as sufficient land had been identified elsewhere;
2. That the level of damage to this County Wildlife Site and green space would be wholly unacceptable;
3. It ran contrary to the wishes of the overwhelming majority of local people and Councillors.

This statement was a major success for all of use who have campaigned for years against the destructive proposals put forward by the owners of the woods and their agents Socially Conscious Capital which would have lead to the loss of this woodland for all time.

Over the autumn the woods have seen some felling and coppicing, however the well managed working of the woods is something that we support as it can be done in any way that ensures the long term survival of the woods as a refuge for wildlife whilst allowing the owners a reasonable and sustainable income from them.

Nest year will see the progression of the Councils local plan. They have already been formally submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and  Local Government for independent examination.

The inspector will examine the councils plan and consider any objections to them. We know that the owners of the woods have opposed the councils plans and continue to argue for them to be given permission to build over large areas of the woods, copies of their objections to the councils plan can be seen HERE, in short the threat to Thorpe Woods has not gone away yet.

The council has appointed a programme officer, Mrs Annette Feeney to assist the inspector in the examination process. She is the councils first point of contact if you should have any enquirers regarding the local plan and the inspection, her contact details are:

Mrs Annette Feeney
c/o Spatial Planning
Broadland District Council
Thorpe Lodge
1 Yarmouth Road
Norwich
NR7 ODU.

We will continue to keep an eye on the progress off the Council's plans and the Inspectors examination and update you on how they are progressing.

2014 was a good year for Thorpe Woods, Broadland District Council firmly stated their opposition to the development of the woods, their support for the woods together with that of groups like the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, RSPB, Norwich Society and CPRE helps to safeguard these woods, however the owners haven't given up yet so in 2015 we will  need to remain vigilante.

Happy New Year to you all

Forestry work in Thorpe Woods

Many of you will have seen the signs that have gone up around Thorpe Woods in the last few weeks announcing that the owners will be carrying out forestry work.

We have been in contact with the Forestry Commission who have confirmed that the owners have been provided with licences to carry out the following work:

Clear felling of an area covering 12 acres followed by restocking

Selective felling and coppicing of an area covering 33 acres followed by restocking

Thinning of certain areas (removal of Rhododendron etc.).

 All of the work being carried out must fulfill the terms of the forestry licences and none of it in any way alters the fact that Broadland District Council has stated in their recently published Area Action Plan, which sets out where housing development will take place upto 2026, that Thorpe Woods are unsuitable for any development and that the council will oppose any plans for development on this 200 acre County Wildlife Site.

The current work may well change the appearance of the woods but it should be remembered that the owners will need to replant/stock what they fell and that working and managing the woods can help to ensure their long term future as a green space for wildlife.

We will continue to monitor the work being carried out to ensure that it adheres to the terms of the licences issued by the Forestry Commission.

Rock throws a wobbly

Following on from the excellent news that Broadland District Council has excluded Thorpe Woods from their plans for future development “on the grounds of impact on biodiversity” and the “very large number of strong public objection to development” Socially Conscious Capital’s Rock Fielden has decided to have a bit of a tantrum.

Despite the fact that his proposals have been clearly rejected by thousands of local people, Broadland District Council, the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, RSPB, Norwich Society etc. Rock still insists that his plans to build  hundreds of unwanted houses over this County Wildlife Site are still on the table. In his press release he states:

"Neither the commercial forestry nor the decision by Broadland District Council over the AAP allocation will prevent us from continuing to promote this proposal."

Unfortunately for Rock nobody else is at that table and nobody is interested in what he is continuing to promote.

Commercial Forestry

In his press release he goes on to say that “we will be continuing commercial forestry…this will centre on 35 acres being thinned/coppiced or selectively felled and another 12 acres, which will be clear felled”.

Obviously Rock hopes that this will be seen as punishment for him not getting what he wanted; the truth is that the Friends and Norfolk Wildlife Trust entirely support the sensible and sensitive management of the woods. Thinning and coppicing are beneficial to the woods and its wildlife, species such as White Admiral butterflies will thrive with the opening up of the tree canopy. 

Over the past 2 years Easton College has carried out coppicing and thinning in Belmore plantation and this has done no harm. As for felling, well under the Forestry Commission licences anything felled must be replanted.

These woods have been commercially managed for generations, people have worked in them for hundreds of years, their existence today is largely due to them being worked in the past. Sensible management of them now can help ensure their survival for generations to come.

Victory for Thorpe campaigners in their long fight to save woods from development

The Eastern Evening News has today published the following article covering the excellent news that Broadland District Council has stated that it is opposed to any development taking place in Thorpe Woods.

Everybody who has supported the campaign to save these woods should be proud of what they have helped to achieve.

The woods will continue to need their friends and the Friends of Thorpe Woodlands will continue to do all they can to ensure these woods are protected so that they can be enjoyed by generations to come.

The 10th July 2014 – a great day for Thorpe Woods and local democracy

4 years ago this month the long battle to save Thorpe Woods from destruction began.

Many of us will never forget the Charette of July 2010, using this charade the owners of Thorpe Woods began their attempt to make a quick buck by building over a much loved woodland and County Wildlife Site. Their central claim then, and over the last 4 years, has been that they can improve a valuable haven for wildlife by building over it.

They brought in Andres Duany and his posse of American architects to try and convince us that by building 800 houses over the woods they would be improving the environment. The Charrette was followed by a packed council meeting on a hot midsummer night. Usually town council meetings attract a handful of local people but on that night over 200 were crammed into the hall; local resident after local resident spoke out against the plans to destroy these woods.

Last year the owners brought in a new hired gun in the form of Socially Conscious Capital, a developer who works on a no win no fee basis. They claimed they only wanted to build on a little bit of the woods, a claim that nobody believed, not even them, how could they when they knew that their profits were dependent of how much of the woods they can develop. In truth Socially Conscious Capital, like the 5 wealthy owners they represent, can only see the woods as an easy way of making yet another million, but 4 years on they have found it to be anything but easy.

Over the last 4 years the people of Thorpe St Andrew and Norwich have repeatedly made clear how much they value these woods, not just for themselves but for their children and for the areas wildlife. They have written 100’s of letters, attended marches, meetings and protests and throughout this they have been joined by their local councillors Ian Mackie, Nigel Shaw and John Fisher who from day one have fought to save these woods.

Last years council consultation on the growth triangle, which addressed the future of the woods, attracted one of the largest responses ever with over 2400 people responding, 99.9% of them calling for the protection of the woods . They were joined by groups such as the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Woodland Trust, Natural England and the Norwich Society all of whom opposed any plans to build on these woods.

Last Thursday Broadland District Council formally stated where it wants to allocate its future housing and development, the council’s statement covers what is described as the Growth Triangle and sets out where housing, schools and businesses should be located up to and beyond 2026. As a result of the hard work, persistence and devotion of the people of Thorpe St Andrew , their councillors and local conservation bodies the council stated clearly that Thorpe Woods is not suitable for development and should be retained as a green space for this and future generations.

The statement identifies the woods as the centre of a series of green infrastructure corridors, it rejects the idea put forward by SCC that in exchange for allowing 100’s of houses to be built on the woods the remnants could possibly be turned into a public park. The statement goes on to identify the woods as “a particularly important area of core habitat, the long term protection of which is central to the enhancement of primary and secondary green infrastructure corridors in the growth triangle” and that although they have been put forward for development they are not deemed an acceptable site due to the ecological impact and landscape sensitivity.

Responding to last year’s consultation the statement recognises the “very large number of strong objections against developing on Thorpe Woodlands” and consequently it states that the woodland “has not been allocated for development. Thorpe Woodlands was discounted as a reasonable alternative, primarily on the grounds of impact on biodiversity of a large scale development and ongoing uncertainty about whether any form of development would be acceptable on similar grounds” “the very large number of strong public objection to development was also taken into account when making this judgement”.

We need to continue to be vigilant about Thorpe woods, last night the council stated clearly that it stands shoulder to shoulder with local people in opposing any development of these woods. The owners may try to come forward with arguments against the councils decision and may even attempt to lodge a planning application contrary to the wishes of the local community and its representatives but this shouldn't detract from the fact that the 10th of July was a great day for local democracy and for Thorpe Woods and hopefully as a result these woods have a long future, and that future is thanks to you.