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'Devastation' of trees at nature reserve
A ROW has broken out over tree felling on Sheffield heathland which campaigners claim has "devastated" the area.
But council chiefs and nature experts insist felling "invasive" birch trees is necessary to preserve the landscape at Wadsley and Loxley Common, part of which is registered as a Linear Nature Reserve and deemed a rare habitat.
Sheffield Council, backed by conservation agency Natural England, believes the work is necessary to prevent the site being taken over by woodland, which would mean heathland and its wildlife would be lost forever.
Species on the land include the nightjar, a nocturnal bird whose numbers are in steep decline, reptiles and invertebrates.
Wadsley and Loxley Commoners, fromed 17 years ago, an organisation of local residents who care about the site, also back the work.
But a more recently-established users' group called Friends of Loxley Common have complained.
Its members said they had "grown to treasure" young birch and oak woodland on the site, claimed they were unaware of a consultation process carried out before felling started and that work had left a "sense of devastation".
They claimed that, rather than increasing heather and bilberry, removal of trees would lead to more bracken. They were unhappy trees were cut down in the nesting season.
But Hannah Isherwood, secretary of Wadsley and Loxley Commoners, said: "The commons used to consist of a beautiful expanse of glorious heather, together with open grassland and fine mature trees. In recent years, birch, regarded as a highly invasive tree, has gained a strong foothold and is destroying the heather.
"The only way of stopping it is by felling and replacement with heather and gorse.
"This work is being carried out with the warm support of the Wadsley and Loxley Commoners."
She said they organised a series of public meetings since management work was first proposed in 2004. Bradfield Parish Council confirmed the meetings were well-attended, one attracting 138 people.
Public consultation included roadshows and people in the area were asked to complete comment cards.
Vivien Cheetham, land management and conservation adviser for Natural England, said: "The site should be managed and conserved, primarily because of the national and international scarcity of this habitat and the associated threat to species on heaths."
Tree felling was proposed as part of an ongoing 10-year management plan for the site costing 24,000 over the decade.
The controversy over the work is to be debated by Sheffield Council's culture, economy and sustainability scrutiny board on Tuesday.
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
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Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
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