Centuries-old wood faces development (From Barry And District News)

Centuries-old wood faces development

A FOUR-HUNDRED year-old Barry woodland is under threat from developers who want to create housing and a business park on the land.

As part of the proposals some of the woodland would remain.

But the planning application to build on Pencoedtre Wood has outraged Coed Cadw Woodland Trust, which is urging residents to write to the Vale of Glamorgan Council in protest.

Rory Francis, of Coed Cadw, said: We understand that Pencoedtre Wood has a complicated planning history, but the latest survey shows clearly how special it is in wildlife terms.

To destroy ancient woodland like this to make way for housing and business units would be the worst kind of vandalism, particularly when alternative, brownfield sites exist.

What worries us most about this case is that the local authority decision-makers may have the impression that local people are not greatly concerned about Pencoedtre Wood.

We hope that scores of local people will put pen to paper, and put them right on this.

Mr Francis added: This will be a crucial test of whether the Welsh Assembly s official policy of protecting irreplaceable ancient woodland will be put into effect in practice.

This would be by far the greatest loss of ancient woodland in Wales since the Assembly gave it protection under planning regulations in 2002.

However, as the Vale of Glamorgan s Unitary Development Plan allocates the land for development, there is a high risk that it will be approved.

The Vale of Glamorgan Council released a report on the 38-acre site to assess its ecological value.

It found 46 different plant species that are specifically associated with ancient woodland, and in 126 different species of vascular plants were found, as well as 71 different kinds of mosses and liverworts and 22 bird species.

Because of this, Coed Cadw is now evaluating the woodland s national importance, which may lead to its designation as a site of special scientific interest.

Cardiff based consultants Harmers Limited have submitted the application on behalf of the Forestry Commission and the landowners, a Mr and Mrs D Randolph.