Forestry Commisson U-TURN - Delamere Forest once again under threat!
Despite the House of Lords overturning the sell off of our beloved Delamere Forest - the Forestry Commisson has prompted a consultation within a window of 1 month to build 70 holiday homes across the Forest creating a devastating impact on the wild life, trees and habitat.
PLEASE HELP US FIGHT THIS! Is there nowhere in the north west which is protected from development??!!
This area is vital protecting what wildlife we have left, and now the FC (gov) want to strip a huge area, laying pipes and leading to the inevitable human contamination.
The email address that I was supplied only today from the FC is: delamereconsultation@forestry.gsi.gov.uk. Please register your objections.
The website which suggests the plans in detail is: www.forestry.gov.uk/delamereproject.
Many thanks for your support,
Helen Beaumont-Kellner
Someone who cares about the environmental impact!
Anonymous
shared this idea
67 comments
-
Andrew Ledson
commented
Delamere Forest is a diverse and beautiful area. Building on it is an act of vandalism. Why can't the lodges be build on brown belt land. Where adding a lake and landscaping would generate additional nesting and breeding areas and improve an area.
Any company that accepts this contract is one that needs to check it's ethics. Destruction for a quick profit is never good business and in the long term there are no winners. A lodge with a view at the cost of this forest is a disgrace. -
Anonymous
commented
Presumably a full planning aopplication is required along with an environmental assessment. All comments here should be forwarded as a log of comments to the planning officer.
Where envinonmental impacts are well managed, sites suitable and not to detriment of other users and total forest area and quality are not reduced then developments that keep our forests relevant and solvent should not be dismissed out of hand. However, forests are forests and usage should be appropriate and carrying capacity not exceeded. The onus should be on the FC to demonstarte this.
-
Caryl Roberts
commented
You will be aware that a massive holiday village is being proposed in the Delamere Forest. The forest is full. It really cannot take such new developments and still be a woodland with wildlife. At weekends there are so many people, dogs running loose, children running loose and prams three abreast.
I used to take my daughter riding our horses in the Delamere but it is hardly suitable now unless we get in and out before 9am on weekdays.We must preserve the Delamere from becoming one big theme park. Any local jobs this development produces will only be a few menial low-paid ones.
-
Simon
commented
To add to Giles comment:- Please see The link below to ensure you send your letters of objection in. It has been advised that each letter of objection will carry more more weight as each is seen as a single objection whereas signing a petition with a hundred names will only count as one objection. So see the templates on the website, add your own comments, write your own original letter, but do it and do it now! Let's cover off every angle we can to get our objections across to those that will decide whether Delamere's tranquil settings will be obliterated forever! REMEMBER - 'Once it's gone its gone!http://cadd.me.uk/links_to_register_objections_5.html
-
Giles Kellner
commented
Frank, if you copy and paste the website link into an e-mail you can then e-mail it to your friends / contacts. NB PLEASE EVERYONE NOTE there is a protest rally on this Sunday, 25th March, at 1pm at the Linmere Lodge car park in Delamere Forest. Please everyone come if you can, there will be press coverage and the impact will be far greater if there are hundreds there. This is a real chance to send out a message close to the expiry of the consultation process. See the CADD website for further details - http://cadd.me.uk/index.html
-
Frank White
commented
how do I send a link to people I know who want to oppose the development?
-
Anonymous
commented
Disgraceful - trying to avoid the forest sell-off by selling off the forest!!! behind our backs.
-
Clare Crocker
commented
Delamere Forest is already segmented by two main roads, a forest road to the visitors centre and a railway line. The introduction of the holiday camp at the northern end of the forest with 2K of new forest roads for traffic associated with the holiday camp winding its way though the trees (that are left) will segment the forest further, increase pollution in the forest and spoil the tranquility of the quieter northern part of the forest. The development is too big and poorly positioned for a small forest like Delamere.
-
Claire Carter
commented
How can this destruction have happened and be so evident to anyone who walks around the forest without the necessary due diligence and consent. We feel crestfallen and distraught towards the forestry commission for its lack of respect of this forest, wildlife and environment. There is no other reason for this to happen apart from corporate greed.
-
Anonymous
commented
Delamere Forest is for quiet enjoyment. NOT a site for another Center Parcs type of development. This forest belongs to the public Not property developers. It must not proceed
-
Kate Harrison
commented
On the question of how all these lodges would be powered and heated - they will have ground source heat pumps for heating. But they could not tell me anything about use of renewable energy - some muttering about solar PV (under the trees?) and even turbines - because you can clear a channel for wind through the forest, you know! - but I was not convinced they had factoring this in as there is nothing on the plans. The lodges are made sectionally in Northern Ireland and assembled on site using big cranes to put the parts in place. there has been no assessment or prediction of the carbon footprint - the developers did not seem to think this was an issue.
-
Kate Harrison
commented
I asked the question about spending in the local economy. On one hand they were saying that visitors to the lodges would use local shops and pubs/restaurants. They could not tell me what the shops on the plan of the Linmere site would be 'they're not really shops'(?). On the other hand - regarding traffic in and out of the forest - they tried to say that these visitors would actually be spending most of their time in the lodges and would not be driving in and out. Plus the gates would be locked - maybe at 10pm. Not much use if you have gone off for a meal - or a wild night at Amore!! I also asked if the delivery options offered at other Forest Holiday sites would be on offer at Delamere and, if so, would the items be from local producers and suppliers. They could not supply any of that info. So potentially this could benefit small local shops such as Ashton Hayes Community Shop (plug!!), Delamere Stores and Kingsley Co-op but it might just benefit Ocado!
Also we were told that there is 'no wildlife' in that part of the forest. So those badger setts on the plan are, like the shops, not really there. -
alan purcell
commented
Strange but true.....
At a recent meeting of the Forestry Commission this discussion was minuted.
How do we give more people the experience of being in a natural forest ? Here's an idea....lets build a big visitor centre that will house some tacky shops that will sell posters and maps and provide talks about how beautiful the forest is.
That sounds good how will we fund it? Well we could fell all the trees and put lodges in their place with hot tubs and car park spaces and roads and reception centres and maintenance buildings and charge people a fortune for staying there.
Won't that mean there won't be a Forest for the people to see? Well we could put a nice expensive restaurant at the Visitor Centre so people won't need to go outside.
This sounds good anyone know who could build this ? Yes I am the Chair of a Company who will help you build and manage it for you and and we only take 51% of revenue.
Great when can we start? Sorry we already have, the trees have been felled and the lodge sites are marked up and the trails widened ....we just need to give the impression we are listening to the peoples silly concerns and then build the lodge.
Fantastic well done everyone we seem to have achieved our objectives this year of protecting our forests - lets give ourselves a pay rise!
-
Baz
commented
Dear Mr Evans
As a resident of Cuddington of some 35 years I am horrified by the Forestry Commission’s plans to build "Disney at Delamere", a village (of 78 cottages) and the unnecessary expansion of “facilities” in the forest. It is where lots of us walk with our dogs, ride horses, and families roam in tranquility, but it seems that we locals and regular visitors are not relevant to Forestry Commission. We will lose our forest forever. Rural life is meant to be tranquil and peaceful but this proposed development would bring increased traffic and pollution as well as the destruction of natural habitat which can never be replaced. Life does not just revolve around MONEY and PROFIT. This must not go ahead.
-
Cath
commented
I am amazed that there is a lack of vision and imagination in ideas of how to utilise the forest to both maximise profit,enjoyment and sustainablitiy of the environment. I am sure that if you asked some of us that regularly access the forest for ideas you would be inundated.
To me it seems like the idea of cabins is out dated and belongs to much larger expanses of land than that of Delamere forest. The Centre Parcs idea has been done to death. We have so little open space in this country that Delamere is an oasis in the middle of three large cities - Manchester, Liverpool and Chester. This project seems to be access for a few not the many that now use it. -
David
commented
In my initial objection, I understood access was to be via Waterloo Lane but now see that this is no longer the case.
The arguement against the development still stands, as it will destroy the quietest and most tranquil part of the forest.
It's going to be like Centreparcs but without pools and restaurants! -
Paul Caldwell
commented
I find it quite bewildering that the way out of a financial crisis caused mainly by the property market, is with property. Come on - think outside the box!
If conventional, mono cultural forestry is no longer viable, how about growing native, mixed species for coppiced fuel? There's plenty of houses with woodburners in the very local area, and it's SUSTAINABLE. -
Sue Parry
commented
That forest has been there for thousands of years. Do we really want to be the generation that allows it to be destroyed? When it's gone, it's gone.
-
Kerry Shiplanes
commented
Rip the forest apart to make way for a money making scheme, but if you are caught taking so much as a dead branch out of the forest to burn on the fire to keep your family warm they will throw the book at you.
-
David
commented
I have written to object
1) I think that the extra likely traffic will destroy the very character of Waterloo Lane, which is a quiet and peaceful road - and the corner where they propose to take a spur road to the development is dangerous enough with existing traffic flows.
2) The junctions where Waterloo Lane meets with Meeting House Lane and Meeting House then meets Norley Road will certainly need a major re-think to cope with the anticipated extra traffic flow. These roads were never designed to cope with such extra traffic.
3) Currently local residents access the forest via Waterloo Lane and the extra traffic will be a danger to cyclists and pedestrians who wish to continue to use this route. There is no pavement along Waterloo Lane, which isn’t a problem at the moment but will be with the likely extra traffic flow.
4) If they really wish to have such a development in the forest, could they not use one of the existing access points on Delamere Road and possibly relocate the development accordingly? They have enough access points and car parks already established along this road.5) Is there not a danger in that attracting many new visitors to the forest from further afield, they will destroy the very peace and tranquillity which many local people currently enjoy from visiting the area?
II think that the proposal, whilst probably financially attractive to DEFRA, will do nothing for the future of the forest itself, nor the locals who enjoy visiting it.
