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A woodland in the New Forest which is renowned for its bluebells has been wiped out by tree felling with campaigners fearing for the wildlife that live there.
Much of the logging at the woods at Broomy Inclosure took place during recent wet weather and campaigners say the work has affected rare birds and is likely to have decimated the bluebells – which attract thousand of visitors every year.
Forestry England authorised the work, which has been underway over the past couple of months.
The area usually flowers with thousands of bluebells. Credit: ITV Meridian
Commoner Ailsa Farrand fears what was special here has now been lost for ever.
“The logging has gone through the bluebell woods, left all the brush lying on top,” she said.
“When it rained, I noticed all the bluebell bulbs were actually running through the water and down into the stream below.
“So they’re actually lost to the site.
“I’m seeing it time and time again where not enough care is taken to preserve this beautiful, protected supposedly area.”
Sue Boyd is a keen bird watcher and is especially concerned about the very rare Eurasian Goshawk – which builds its nest in high and hidden locations – now exposed by the work of the loggers. “They know they’re there, and they have actually marked the trees.
“But the contractors have driven directly beneath the trees, over the roots of the trees, damaged the roots of the trees.
“Those trees will probably die until now, along with the nest.”The location, in the north of the New Forest, is popular with bike riders and walkers and many are shocked by what they’ve seen – including Phil Wade from the First Wessex Charity Walking Group.
“It’s completely changed the complexion of the forest here,” he said.
“It was very, very wooded before, and now it’s pretty desolate, as you can see from the logs behind me.”
Forestry England authorised the work, which has been underway over the past couple of months. Credit: ITV Meridian
People who work in the forest understand that it does need to be managed, but senior Verderer Anthony Pasmore says this destruction and pollution amounts to negligence by Forestry England.
“It’s land which is protected by all sorts of conservation designations.
“They can do this and they grumble about a family car parked on the verge because it’s destroying a few blades of grass.
“These are enormous ruts over huge area. They know perfectly well that they are not obtaining proper reports in advance. If they were and if they were observing them, then the damage simply wouldn’t happen.”Forestry England has confirmed that work has stopped because of the damage being caused to the environment.
A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that timber harvesting in Broomy Inclosure have been stopped due to environmental damage caused by the contractor.
“We are carrying out a full investigation into the incident, its impact and actions that need to be taken.
“We will take any necessary actions we can in the short term and a full reinstatement of the site will take place when weather conditions allow later in the year.
We understand this incident may raise serious concerns and are taking this matter extremely seriously.”
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