Thousands of trees under threat over housing development plans in Grantham

Thousands of trees are at risk if current plans for a major housing development in Grantham are given the go ahead.

The Woodland Trust is calling on housing plans, developed as part of the sell-off of the Prince William of Gloucester Barracks site, to be urgently revised to prevent the loss of more than 67,000 trees planted at the site nearly 10 years ago.

Back in 2016, it was confirmed that the Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, located to the east of Grantham, would be discontinued and redeveloped to accommodate up to 4,000 new homes.

The 183 hectare site was allocated in the South Kesteven District Council Local Plan (2011-2036) for the new development, as well as eight hectares of “employment generating uses”.

But between 2012 and 2013, school children and local people helped soldiers plant 84,000 trees at the site in a bid to create a lasting ‘green lung’ for the town as part of the Woodland Trust’s Jubilee Woods project to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s 60-year reign.

Her Royal Highness Princess Anne visited Grantham to plant the final tree at the site in 2014.

Now, under current plans drawn up by Homes England, 80 per cent of these trees will be removed to make way for the new housing development.

The charity acknowledges that the proposed re-development of the former barracks presents an opportunity to give the town the essential services it needs and meet local housing targets, but claims current plans for the site should be changed significantly to retain much more of the community-planted woodland.

Oliver Newham, Grantham resident and local government spokesperson for the Woodland Trust, is leading the campaign.

He said: “The Trust accepts that a percentage of the young trees on site may need to go in order to facilitate this development. But the plans appear to have priorities alarmingly wrong.

“The Government declared a climate and environment emergency in 2019 and set a target to dramatically increase woodland cover to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“Grantham has a site that is ahead of the game here, having the foresight in 2012 to plant trees vital in tackling climate change and to support our dwindling wildlife populations.”

The Trust now wants to see a revised masterplan which places a much higher priority on retaining the trees on site, a commitment to ambitious tree canopy cover levels in any development on site and additional tree planting nearby to compensate for any trees lost.

David Tibbett, was a civilian training officer, when he was asked to help with the planting in 2012.

He added: “We thought we were planting the trees for the future generation. It’s very disappointing that all of our efforts could now be in vain.”

Oliver also highlights the benefits of green spaces at a time when so much is being put on the importance of physical and mental wellbeing.

He added: “Areas of woodland act as a green lung – improving air quality, trapping pollution and cooling temperatures. Indeed Public Health England, the Government’s own agency to improve public health and well being, cites these as some of the reasons we must retain and increase green space, claiming that there is compelling evidence greenspaces really matter for our physical and mental health.

“It therefore is unfathomable Government agencies are designing a new development that would result in such significant loss of established woodland.”

The application, submitted by Homes England, also proposes the construction of two primary schools and a secondary school, shops, hospitality, a GP surgery and a community centre.

Open spaces will also form part of the site, with the plans mentioning the creation of new sports pitches, allotments, children’s play areas and woodland.

Homes England confirmed that they are keen to work with the Trust. A spokesperson said: “The proposed development seeks to deliver a sustainable and viable new community comprising up to 4,000 new homes and employment space centred around parks, woodlands and a community hub.Whilst a number of the smaller trees within the extensive plantation area on the airfield will need to be removed to accommodate the proposals, other areas of woodland and biodiverse habitats will be created as part of the development. These new habitats will be more valuable to native species and will benefit the natural environment.

“We are keen to work with the Woodland Trust to make this a community with woodland and open space at its heart and have already engaged with the Trust to seek their views. The consultation will open on 21 May and run until 25 June, which will give local people the first opportunity to comment on the proposals. The feedback received will be used to refine the proposals, which we will share before we submit a planning application.”