Controversy breaks out over HS2 ancient woodland destruction

Controversy has broken out over the destruction of ancient woodland by the HS2 high speed rail link.

Government conservation agency Natural England published a review warning that ancient woodland - areas that have been continuously wooded since 1600 - was irreplaceable.

The report said HS2 Ltd must be far more ambitious in compensating effectively for unavoidable losses of ancient woodland, creating 30 hectares of new woodland for every hectare lost.

This is much higher than the metric which would lead to a ratio of around five hectares created for each hectare lost.

But in its response to the report, the Department for Transport (DfT) rejected the findings, saying:

The Woodland Trust, which welcomed the findings by Natural England, responded angrily to the DfT's statement.

Beccy Speight, chief executive of the conservation charity, said:

The Woodland Trust estimates around 900 hectares (2,200 acres) of new woodland will need to be created to replace 30 hectares of ancient woodland (74 acres) lost in phase one of the scheme, from London to the West Midlands.