Sheffield trees: Heavy trucks 'destroying historic ancient woodland' on city sites warns Prof Ian Rotherham

But this is a site which one of Sheffield’s best known environmental experts says was a protected ancient woodland with thousands of years of archaeological heritage hidden below.

Now Professor Ian Rotherham, an environmental expert at Sheffield Hallam University, is upset that the site, Rough Standhills Plantation, Whirlow, has become one of a number of locations he fears have been destroyed by heavy, tracked vehicles being used to fell trees by the council.

Sheffield Council says trees had to be removed because of an infectious tree disease.

But Prof Rotherham claims nationally more ancient woodlands are being destroyed than at any time since the 1960s, and believes Sheffield Council, the Forestry Commission, and DEFRA all play a part. He thinks trees should have been removed more carefully.

Rough Standhills Plantation, Whirlow, damaged by tree removal

He said Rough Standhills was an ancient woodland, and ancient wood pasture – meaning the site was specially protected, as a heritage landscape, with archaeological value.

He said: “We know that the landscape nearby is rich in Romano-British remains of 2,000 years old, 1,500 years old, and loads and loads of medieval archaeology linked to the industry of this area.

“And you can see what’s happened. This is supposedly low impact management – removal of a planted larch crop, and it’s dictated by the Government department DEFRA, implemented by the Forestry Commission, who tell the city council and other landowners how their woods need to be managed. But this is supposed to be low impact, and if we are going to remove these trees, which were, it’s suggested, diseased, then we need to remove them with genuinely low impact vehicles, and that’s not what’s happened here. The whole landscape feels like a World War One battle scene. It’s a tragedy.”

He said it is not the only Sheffield site damaged.

Ancient woodlands lost in Owlthorpe and Hutcliffe Wood

He believes similar landscapes have been lost to housing development in Owlthorpe, and through a BMX track and cycleway in Hutcliffe Wood, near Beauchief, recently.

He claimed the work would cause irreparable damage to an area full of archaeology. He said the council was blitzing sites with large, tracked vehicles.

“We are losing important sites. There are maybe 10 locally that I’m aware of, and no one’s doing anything about it.

"It’s a disaster,” he said.

“This is by no means restricted to this site alone or to Sheffield City Council - but is a much wider problem.”

He is deeply concerned by the approach to managing valuable wildlife habitats and landscape heritage resources. He said Rough Standhills was a scheduled ancient woodland and ancient wood pasture, and a council site of scientific Interest in a council green corridor – both of which carried certain policy commitments.

He said the commitments suggested such sites should be managed in accordance with an agreed long-term management plan based on good survey data, and public and expert consultation. He said any change to that should be through a formal process of review and if necessary, consultation.

Archaeology devastated

He added: “This is all desperately disappointing for a known / scheduled site in public ownership to be so devastated to the point that significant areas can no longer be considered ‘ancient woodland’. However, what is done cannot be undone and the heritage here is largely gone.

“My worry now, and substantiated by observations across the city and the wider region, is that many other woods may be treated with the same cavalier fashion and in effect destroyed as ‘ancient woods’. I would go so far as to suggest that we are witnessing the worst destruction of ancient woodland sites nationally since the 1960s, the difference being largely that so far, few people have noticed.”

Diseased trees removed due to phytophthora ramorum

Lisa Firth, director of parks, leisure, libraries at Sheffield Council, said: “The council’s longstanding Tree and Woodlands Team continues to manage our woodlands to the highest standards, earning it a reputation as a centre for excellence. Our woodland estate has successfully retained Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, recognising that we are managing our woodlands in a responsible and sustainable way in accordance with the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS).

“For Rough Standhills, the council received a Statutory Plant Health Notice (SPHN) from the Forestry Commission that instructed us to fell trees infected with the fungal disease, Phytophthora Ramorum within the plantation. This notice requires compulsory action within a specified time frame to stop the spread of the disease. Our approach was discussed and agreed with the Forestry Commission.

“At Hutcliffe Woods, as far as we’re aware there has not been any further encroachment of the BMX track, known locally as ‘monkey bumps’, into the woodland since the 1960s. Protection measures for any archaeological features affected by the cycle route through the woods was agreed with South Yorkshire Archaeology Service. The route followed an existing footpath and aimed to prevent wider damage by improving the route and providing a good surface.

“The council is not responsible for Ancient Woodland designation. This lies with Natural England, recorded in their Ancient Woodland inventory, but when woodlands demonstrate certain ecological features/species we check against this inventory. We do recognise remnants of ancient woodland in this area. We’re aware of ongoing matters relating to a live planning enforcement case at Owlthorpe which has also been referred to the Environment Agency. No trees have been removed in the remnant ancient woodland”

DEFRA said in a statement: “We are committed to preserving our ancient woodlands which provide a wide range of social, environmental and economic benefits.

“To deliver our long-term vision for trees and woodlands, new and existing trees must be protected from biosecurity risks and our continued investment into the management of pests and diseases is essential to minimise the net loss to the existing treescape and to protect our investment in to expanding tree cover.”

The Forestry Commission has been approached for comment.

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