Where: Bramley Frith, Hampshire
Wood stauts:31.08ha wood, owned by National Grid
Wood threat: National Grid proposed to increase the size of an existing substation to feed electricity demands of new housing developments planned for the South East
Background
Bramley Frith was bought by National Grid in 1964. In 1965 a large electricity substation was built in the heart of the wood - it was perceived that the trees would hide the substation and being sited in the centre of the wood offers both security and amenity assets. Substations act to convert and feed electricity from the national grid to areas of demand; in this case a large area of South-East England. Due to substantial increases in housing in Basingstoke and other areas served by this substation, National Grid felt the need to increase capacity. The proposal was to increase the area covered by the existing substation in Bramley Frith Wood.
The woodland is acknowledged by Natural England to be a prime example of ancient woodland and as being of SSSI quality. However, the wood was not formally designated because (until these plans were revealed) the wood had been considered by Natural England and its predecessors to be safe in the hands of National Grid.
What happened?
- Local people formed a campaign to oppose the further destruction of the wood and contacted the Woodland Trust for support:
- We looked at the possible plans and estimated that the proposals would result in a loss of 1.8ha of woodland/unimproved grassland area, of which 0.4ha was of standing ancient trees;
- and so we contacted National Grid and the local planning authority, Basingstoke and Dean District Council, to request some information about what was happening.
What happened next?
- National Grid claimed that there was no time to lose in this development, as any delay in starting work on the new substation would result in a slowing of the SE housing building programme
- Yet National Grid was very unhelpful in providing detailed information about the proposal and its implications for the woodland
- So the local campaign group used the Freedom of Information Act to access the information requested
- National Grid then persuaded the council that they did not need to request full planning permission, as the development would fall under the rules of permitted development (as defined by the General Permitted Development Order) - and therefore the proposals would not require a formal planning application or an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
- Basingstoke and Dean District Council agreed that there was no reason to go through planning.
A dead end?
Without the process involved in a formal planning application, there was little anyone could do to stop National Grid’s proposals.
However, in the initial belief that planning permission and an EIA would be needed, National Grid had employed external consultant ecologists to carry out ecological investigations of the site. There was local knowledge about the biodiversity of the site and so we knew that National Grid would have to ask for licences from Natural England for the resulting interference with dormice, bats, badgers and great crested newts.
- When National Grid applied for relevant licences, the Woodland Trust and other groups requested copies of these applications, and asked for a role in the ongoing licence procedure
- We were all refused
- A licence for dormice was granted – unusually quickly - in Jan 2007, and for great crested newts on 29 March 2007.
But...we decided we would fight on!
Throughout the process there had been a lot of local support from the nearby village, half a mile away.
- The only public access to Bramley Frith was via a footpath along one edge and until recently, there was only ‘permissive access’ to the rest of the wood
- National Grid withdrew the permissive access
- National Grid also terminated an agreement for an Environmental Education Centre to use the woodland and have a purpose-built centre on the site, for ‘security reasons’
- The wood is now actively guarded against public access
This aggressive behaviour induced a small group of local supporters opposing the proposal, some with useful specialist knowledge, to carry on the fight for the wood and we worked closely with them to continue the campaign.
Onwards to Judicial Review
With guidance from a barrister we were advised that the process when granting the licence to remove great crested newts from the extension area could have been flawed, as:
- There was a deliberate action to preclude knowledgeable third parties from the process
- The material submitted in respect of the alternative options was insufficient for an informed decision to be made
- Contractors huts, car-parking and spoil heaps had been approved for sites of prime newt habitat
Our legal case - what happened
The decision was taken by WT to challenge the licensing process in the High Court via Judicial Review:
- However, this was heard by an unsympathetic Judge. An interim Injunction obtained earlier (to ensure that National Grid did not damage the site until the case had been heard in full) was overturned.
- The Judge was not interested in testing whether process had been followed…
- …and the importance of protecting species and woodland was dismissed as being of little merit in comparison with the need for more electricity generation.
- Costs were awarded against Woodland Trust, and (despite some free legal work) the overall outlay for this case was circa £40,000.
What's happening now?
- We lost the case, the woods and the trees. You can see from the photograph what this ancient woodland site looks like now.
- We remain extremely concerned about the possibility that National Grid may decide they need to expand again and choose to follow the same ‘permitted development’ route in the future.
- We have asked Natural England why they have not designated the site as a SSSI - we have not yet received a sensible answer to this question so we will continue to push!
Final thoughts
- Just because the planning process was ignored in this case, it was not the end of the campaign. Don’t be put off by procedure (or a lack of!).
- Getting professional legal advice was invaluable to pursuing this campaign as far as it could go, and it can be free of charge.
- With development hidden in the centre, Bramley Frith is a patent example of how a wood can be eaten up from the inside out.
- Remember; the consequences can be immense even where development isn’t going to be obvious. We are devastated to have lost this case - but we stand by the decision to try and protect the area, and we are determined that our experiences will inform our work and successfully save other woods in the future.