STATEMENT by Dr.

Andrea Berardi in support of the Royal Borough

of Windsor and Maidenhead Councils Tree Replacement Notice
relating to Blacknest Park, Whitmore Lane, Sunningdale, Berkshire,
issued on the 15
th
of January (Ref. B05/CS/OF/02/13/BlacknestPark)
1. I am a lecturer in Environmental Information Systems at The Open University, UK. I
have a BSc.Hons in Ecology (Kings College London, 1992); an MSc in Nature
Conservation (University College London, 1995) and a Ph.D. in Woodland
Management and Modelling (University College London, 1999). My core area of
expertise is plant ecology and community-based natural resource management, with
over 20 years of practical fieldwork experience in the UK, Italy, Vietnam, Brazil and
Guyana.
2. I own Granny Kettle Wood, 5.5 acres of woodland that is directly adjacent to, and
upstream of, the woodland area known as Blacknest Park. Together with over 60
volunteers from the local community, I have been undertaking intensive ecological
restoration work in the woodland corridor, including tree planting and the control of
invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam and Cabbage Skunk Weed. This has
involved liaising with adjacent landowners on a joint management strategy.
3. I was aware that the whole woodland corridor, including Granny Kettle Wood and
Blacknest Park, is covered by a Woodland Tree Preservation Order issued in 2004.
The removal of any tree, unless diseased or dangerous to the public, would require
permission from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
4. On July 14
th
2011, I had a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Matthew Lucas, a board
member of 'Distinctive Properties Ascot Limited', the housing development company
which owns Blacknest Park, in order to agree on the need to remove invasive plant
species throughout the woodland corridor, including Blacknest Park. A Woodland
TPO does not prevent the removal of invasive species such as Rhododendron and
Laurel.
5. At the face-to-face meeting, Mr. Matthew Lucas showed a keen interest in
supporting the ecological restoration, and I therefore became intimately acquainted
with the plant and woodland ecology of Blacknest Park, including the densely
wooded Alder Carr that was clearly in an advanced stage of succession within the
silted up southern portion of the lake situated within Blacknest Park.
6. The area of Alder Carr comprised of approximately 20 to 30 mature Alder and Birch
trees (>75mm dbh), with a high density of Alder, Birch and Willow saplings. Trees
were present at a high density all the way up to the metal pilings dividing the silted
up area from the remainder of the lake. However, the herbaceous layer did include
Himalayan Balsam and Cabbage Skunk Weed amongst the high density of Soft Rush
(Juncus effusus).
7. My intimate knowledge of the densely wooded nature of the site is corroborated by
a series of aerial photographs and remotely sensed imagery dating back to the
1980s, including the following remotely sensed image taken by DigitalGlobe on the
20
th
of March 2012:

8. In the DigitalGlobe image, one can clearly discern the high density of deciduous
species dominating the Alder Carr, with a few Birch and Willow just coming into leaf
(light green). The evergreen species, chiefly Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), are only
present above the floodplain on the higher slopes to the west and south-east of the
Alder Carr.
9. In April 2012, Mr. Matthew Lucas came into Granny Kettle Wood and introduced me
to two employees of Mid Kent Fisheries Ltd. and assured me that the company had
been employed to clear Rhododendron, Himalayan Balsam and Cabbage Skunk
Weed, and not to worry if I heard the sound of chainsaws.
10. In May 2012, I witnessed the clearfelling of the trees in the Alder Carr and burning,
with petrol, of large tree trunks on a pyre. On a subsequent weekend, when I
actually entered the site to confront the contractors, I witnessed a rescue operation
on a large excavator that had sunk into the silt. This excavator was clearly in the
process of grubbing out any remaining tree stumps, and in-filling, with silt and
construction waste, an area of what used to be Alder Carr approximately 40 m by 40
m in size directly adjacent to the metal pilings. The Google Earth image taken on
June 6
th
2012 (copied below) clearly shows the tracks of the excavator used to grub
out the majority of stumps from the cleared area. However, the sinking of the
excavator may have prevented the completion of the grubbing out and photographs
of the remaining stumps are provided after paragraph 13.

11. I reported this clear infringement of the Woodland TPO to Royal Borough of Windsor
and Maidenhead Council's Tree Team (trees@rbwm.gov.uk) via e-mail. Other
witnesses also reported the infringement.
12. In February 2013, 'Distinctive Properties Ascot Limited' submitted a planning
application to build a mansion on exactly the site of the clearfelling and infilling. It is
abundantly clear that the Alder Carr was intentionally clearfelled by contractors
hired by the developers in order to facilitate their planning application for a mansion
on the cleared footprint. The developers arranged for an ecological survey, which
was submitted as part of the planning application, to take place on the site on the
28
th
of May 2012, just a few weeks after the clearfelling. The ecological survey stated
that the site comprised "bare ground and of limited ecological value". This provides
ample evidence for the developer's motivations behind the clearfelling.
13. In April 2013 I re-entered the site to make a video documentary (just Google
Blacknest Park YouTube) and the following photographic evidence of the
clearfelling:













14. In the current 'Distinctive Properties Ascot Limited' TRN appeal, they make a case
that there is limited evidence for the presence of trees on the site before April 2012,
and the "limited" evidence provided by the RBWM Council only points to 27 trees
being removed. This, apparently, does not warrant RBWM Councils TRN to replant
the cleared area with 1,280 trees. Evidence from a number of witnesses, previous
planning application reports, aerial photography and remotely sensed imagery
clearly indicate that it is absolutely imperative to replant all 1,280 trees on exactly
the same footprint as the illegal clearfelling in order to promote the rapid recovery
of the Alder Carr.
15. The TPO designation for the site is a "Woodland TPO" rather than a TPO for
individual trees. This therefore includes trees at all stages of maturity, including
saplings, which will not have been measured in previous arboricultural surveys
(British Standard 5837:2012 'Trees in relation to design, demolition and
construction', and all previous version, require only tress with a >75mm diameter
above 1.5m ground level to be surveyed).
16. The cleared site was entirely covered by Alder, Willow and Birch in the early stages
of maturity (i.e. below 75mm in diameter), with between 20 and 30 emergent
mature trees of Alder and Birch >75mm in diameter. The clearfelled site did not
comprise of rhododendron or laurel, as these species cannot thrive in permanently
waterlogged conditions. The "one-for-one" replacement, requiring the replanting
with 1,280 sapling, therefore refers to the entirety of the cleared Alder, Willow and
Birch trees, including saplings, rather than just the 27 trees >75 in diameter.
17. Since April 2012, the developers are continuing to contravene the site's 'Woodland
TPO' by regularly brushcutting the recovering vegetation, as witnessed by several
individuals and as can be seen on site by the even height of the cut vegetation. This
is preventing the natural regeneration of the woodland, and it is therefore essential
that the recovery is facilitated by direct replanting with 1,280 saplings.
18. The 'wet woodland' corridor, comprising the illegally cleared area, comprised of
Alder, Willow and Birch is a BAP priority habitat, a Local Wildlife Site and is now
protected as a 'Green Corridor' within the Ascot, Sunningdale and Sunninghill
Neighbourhood Plan. The replanting of trees has to take place on exactly the same
footprint as the clearfelling in order to allow the full ecological recovery of this rare
wet woodland habitat and wildlife corridor. Replanting within other areas of the site
will clearly not provide the same ecological benefits.
19. The developers are appealing against RBWM Council's rejection of their planning
application (PINS Appeal ref. APP/T0355/A/13/2206888). The public inquiry was
initiated on February 25
th
2014, but adjourned until the outcome of this TRN appeal.
20. I am part of a Rule 6 Party participating within the public inquiry which comprises
Sunningdale Parish Council, Ascot and Sunninghill Parish Council, Wildlife in Ascot,
Ascot Community Environment Network, and the Berkshire branch of the Campaign
to Protect Rural England. All these organisations are determined that this particular
developer does not set a precedent in the area, where woodlands protected by TPOs
are unlawfully clearfelled in order to facilitate housing development.
21. In conclusion, based on the weight of evidence indicating the presence of a
flourishing wet woodland before illegal clearfelling, and a clear motivation by the
developer for undertaking the illegal clearfelling in order to facilitate the approval of
a planning application for a mansion on the site, I would strongly recommend that
RBWM Councils Tree Replacement Notice to replant 1280 specimens of Alder,
Willow, Birch and Oak, is upheld.
Yours sincerely,

Dr Andrea Berardi