Shock as pipe works destroy community woodland (From Milford Mercury)

Shock as pipe works destroy community woodland

10:07am Thursday 14th September 2006 in News

A FEW days ago, it was an idyllic community woodland, rich with trees, plants and wildlife, and dubbed Fairy Glen. Now, however, it's nothing . . .

As the Mercury reported last week, for the last few months, volunteers have been quietly beavering away in Hilton Woods, in a unique project aimed at making the woodlands accessible for community use.

On Friday, the volunteers turned up to find an area of woodland around 50 metres by 80 metres had been obliterated to make way for the gas pipeline being built by National Grid.

The Mount Community Association paid £25,000 to lease the area for and to have sole management rights, but papers seeking their consent to have the pipe go through their land did not arrive until after the work was done.

Community representatives are livid.

"It has taken us four years to turn the woodland into a beautiful place for people to enjoy. The kids called it Fairy Glen and now it looks more like the Battle of the Somme. People are very angry," said George Roach, treasurer of MCA.

"As an association, we have been in discussions with National Grid Transco about working in partnership to combat the 90% unemployment on our estate - but at no stage did they ever tell us they intended to destroy our woodland.

"We only found out six days ago they were on course to hit us and made them aware we wanted to discuss our concerns. Despite telling them they were not authorised, they just ploughed on through. They don't give a damn for anyone or anything" said George.

Colin Robbins who works for MCA's trading arm, said: "This must be a unique situation, there cannot be many community owned woodlands along the length of the pipeline.

"We have been trying to talk to National Grid Transco from mid 2005. We had hoped because of our vicinity to the LNG terminals and MCA being used as a model of good practice by the Wales Audit Office, someone with enough brains in National Grid Transco would have seized on us as a positive PR opportunity. Obviously, we over estimated them."

At time of going to press, National Grid was offering no explanation as to how the woodland was destroyed without consultation with the leaseholders.

"We will be meeting with the trustees of the project this week. It would be inappropriate to comment until after that meeting" said a spokesman.