Forestry Commission raises concerns over crucial bypass

Seven 'irreplaceable' trees have been identified along the route of a new £84m Norfolk bypass.

The Forestry Commission has told Norfolk County Council it will need to protect the 'veteran' trees where it wants to build the West Winch Access Road, near King's Lynn.

The government department has informed the Conservative-controlled council that buffer zones will be needed to safeguard the trees, should the road, which would link the A10 and A47, go ahead.

The Forestry Commission advised the authority, which lodged plans for the road to its own planning department in January, that development leading to the loss of veteran trees should be refused, unless there were "wholly exceptional reasons".

A graphic showing the proposed route of the West Winch Access Road (Image: West Norfolk council)

Edwin Van Ek, the commission's partnership and expertise manager, said in a submission to the planning process: "A veteran tree may not be very old, but it has significant decay features, such as branch death and hollowing. These features contribute to its exceptional biodiversity, cultural and heritage value."

He said buffer zones, at least 15 times larger than the diameter of the trees, should be created to protect them.

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Mr Van Ek also said the proposed road runs through and bisects deciduous woodland, prioritised for protection.

He said: "A scheme that bisects any woodland will not only result in significant loss of woodland cover but will also reduce ecological value and natural heritage impacts due to habitat fragmentation, and have a huge negative impact on the ability of the biodiversity to respond to the impacts of climate change.

"It is expected there will be a thorough assessment of any loss of all trees and
woodlands within the project boundary and the development of mitigation measures to minimise any risk of net deforestation because of the scheme."

He said it was unclear what measures the council intends to take to compensate for loss woodland or how it would protect the veteran trees.

A council spokesperson said: "The proposal includes full landscaping and environmental mitigation measures and all comments and queries raised as part of the formal planning application process will be considered and responded to."

The council is waiting to hear whether the government will contribute almost £67m towards the bill for the road, which would serve 4,000 planned new homes.