The New Locust Years: Trouble in the Woods & the destruction of ancient woodland heritage in the UK

Woodlands are amongst our most valued wildlife habitats and places for quiet leisure, and Britian's 'ancient woods' are the most precious of all. Yet, despite their public profile and inherent benefits they bring to people, biodiversity, climate resilience, and our cultural history, they are being actively degraded and destroyed with barely a murmur of protest. Heritage of archaeological and historic features, along with ancient woodland indicators can be swept away in an afternoon. The heritage is lost, and the ecology generally fails to recover. Furthermore, benefits like downstream floodwater mitigation, climate resilience, biodiversity, and carbon capture become negatives such as water pollution, soil erosion, and loss of amenity. A final irony is that far from generating economic benefits, the whole process costs the public, local authorities, and conservation bodies a huge amount of money. The system is flawed.