Jones' Hill Wood is a 1.8-hectare (4.4-acre) piece of ancient woodland near Wendover in Buckinghamshire, south England. Formed mainly of beech trees, the wood is part of the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Almost half of the wood is planned to be chopped down to make way for the route of High Speed 2 (HS2) and the topsoil will be translocated. In October 2020, a protest camp was evicted.
| Jones' Hill Wood | |
|---|---|
 The wood behind Durham Farm in 2010 | |
| Map | |
  | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Buckinghamshire, England |
| Coordinates | 51°43′53″N 0°42′59″W / 51.7313°N 0.7165°W |
| Area | 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) |
| Ecology | |
| Dominant tree species | Beech |
| Lesser flora | Bluebell, dog’s mercury, dog’s violet, primrose |
| Fauna | Badgers, bats, foxes, tawny owls |
History
editJones' Hill Wood is a 1.8-hectare (4.4-acre) piece of ancient woodland between Great Missenden and Wendover in Buckinghamshire.[1][2] It is part of the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[3] The woods are formed mainly of beech trees and provide a habitat for badgers, bats, foxes, and tawny owls.[4] Lesser flora include bluebells, dog’s mercury, dog’s violet and primrose.[4] The author Roald Dahl lived nearby in Great Missenden and is said to have drawn on his walks in the woods in Fantastic Mr Fox.[4][5] Other sources say the inspiration for Fantastic Mr Fox was Angling Spring Wood.[6][7]
In planning for High Speed 2 (HS2), phase one of which is a railway between Birmingham and London, the clearance of 1 hectare (2.5 acres) was mandated. This was then reduced to 0.7 hectares (1.7 acres) and HS2 plans to plant 4.1 hectares (10 acres) of new woodland in compensation.[8] Thus, almost half of the wood will be chopped down and it is one of 20 ancient woodland sites that HS2 will attempt to translocate, meaning the topsoil will be moved to another place.[4] Natural England, a non-departmental public body, has stated that it is impossible to move ancient woodland.[4][9]
Protest camp
editA tree sitting protest camp was set up in March 2020 in order to stop the demolition of the site. It was evicted in October 2020.[10] On the first day, 40 people were removed from the woods.[10] On the following day, a West Berkshire Council Green party councillor was arrested after he was taken from a tree he had lived in for three months.[11] He then returned to the wood several days later to rejoin seven other activists still in treehouses.[12] After eight days, the last protester to be evicted was veteran environmental activist Swampy, who was taken from a 80-foot (24 m) high treehouse.[13] Along with six other people, he was charged with aggravated trespass.[2]
After the eviction, a report found evidence of rare barbastelle bats living at Jones' Hill Wood.[14] Lawyers requested that HS2 stopped clearing the site until a full survey had been carried out and suggested that the Natural England licence for works did not include destruction of bat habitats.[14]
Felling
editNatural England granted HS2 a bat licence in March 2021 to allow destruction of four pipistrelle bat perches and one breeding place.[15] HS2 began felling two thirds of the wood in April 2021 and four protesters were arrested. A local farmer from the Bunce family, after which Dahl named a character in Fantastic Mr Fox, said "It used to be full up with primroses, foxgloves, bluebells, wood anemones, all sorts of things".[16] On 16 April, a High Court judge told HS2 to stop felling trees until at least 24 May, pending the result of an application for a judicial review of Natural England's decision.[17] On 26 April, Mr Justice Holgate then overturned the decision to pause felling.[18]
References
edit- ^ "HS2 tree planting attracts widespread criticism". Landscape Institute. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ a b Wareham, Stephanie (14 October 2020). "Protesters protecting woods from HS2 charged with trespass". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "HS2 Enabling Works at Jones' Hill Wood, Ancient Woodland" (PDF). Chilterns AONB. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "HS2 to destroy wood that inspired Roald Dahl". Woodland Trust. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Campaigner loses fight over HS2 work in ancient wood that inspired Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox". The Independent. 27 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "On the trail of Roald Dahl in Great Missenden". The Independent. 22 July 2016. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "The Chilterns AONB - Map categories". www.chilternsaonb.org. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "High Speed Two Phase One: London-West Midlands Ancient Woodland Strategy" (PDF). 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ Batchelor, Tom (2 October 2020). "HS2 treehouse protesters in standoff with police over 'destruction of ancient wood'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ a b "HS2 protest: 'More climb trees' at Roald Dahl wood eviction". BBC News. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ Hyde, Nathan (5 October 2020). "Councillor arrested in tree after HS2 protest 'turned violent'". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "West Berkshire councillor back in the treetops as he renews protest against HS2 - Newbury Weekly News". www.newburytoday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020.
- ^ Humphries, Will (8 October 2020). "Swampy is last man standing at HS2 camp". The Times. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ a b Murray, Jessica (10 October 2020). "HS2 may be guilty of 'wildlife crime' by felling trees illegally, say lawyers". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ Bamford, Thomas (7 April 2021). "Full extent of damage to Jones Hill Wood near Wendover laid bare as HS2 granted license by Natural England to begin work". Bucks Herald. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Marshall, Claire (8 April 2021). "HS2: Arrests as 'Roald Dahl wood' felling starts". BBC News. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Dalton, Jane (16 April 2021). "Judge orders HS2 to pause tree felling at wood that inspired Roald Dahl". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ Trivedi, Shruti Sheth (27 April 2021). "Campaigner loses fight over HS2 work in ancient woodland said to have inspired Roald Dahl". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
External links
edit- Jones’ Hill Wood, near Wendover: Evidence of the presence of barbastelle bat Official report by Ecotech (October 2020)
- Jones' Hill Wood on a 19th century Ordnance Survey map (OS 25 inch, 1895-1914)