News / Crews Hole
Charity hopes to buy woodland to save it from development
A crowdfunder has been launched to buy a wood in order to protect the land from development and “help it reach its potential for biodiversity and carbon sequestration”.
The woodland known locally as Blackswarth Road Wood overlooks the River Avon between Avonview Cemetery and Crews Hole Road.
The five-acre patch of land is for sale by auction, with Hollis Morgan’s original listing saying that the plot is a parcel of “mature woodland with scope for residential development subject to consents”.
is needed now More than ever
The land has previously been used as a formal terraced garden, a glass bottle manufactory, furnace, making fireclay and for allotments.
The wood has not been managed over the last decade or so and has lost some of its diversity, with the land also used as a rubbish dump.
Crowdfunder organisers admit that “huge clean-up parties will be required to get this woodland back on track, but working with volunteers and contractors we can remove decades of rubbish and return this space to nature”.
Blackswarth Road Wood has a rich social and industrial past – photo: Protect Earth
Environmental charity Project Earth says that the site being listed for auction with mature woodland with scope for residential development “is highly misleading”.
On the crowdfunder page, they say: “There is no reasonable legal pathway to developing on this land. Previous planning has been rejected, and it’s highly unlikely future permission will be given, but that doesn’t mean this ecosystem won’t be severely damaged or destroyed in the process.
“Friends of Troopers Hill particularly value Blackswarth Wood as it forms part of a wildlife corridor through the Avon Valley conservation area that includes Troopers Hill.
“We don’t think there is any realistic prospect of a new owner getting permission to build on the site but we are concerned that someone might cause damage in trying to prove that building is feasible.”
Blackswarth Road Wood is half the size of the much loved Troopers Hill and Crews Hole Woodlands, but as part of a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) it is crucial wildlife habitat – photo: Hollis Morgan
Friends of Troopers Hill chair, Susan Acton-Campbell, said: “We really hope that the charity, Protect Earth, will be able to purchase the site to ensure that it is managed for wildlife and to enhance its biodiversity.”
A Bristol Tree Forum spokesperson added: “The decision to build on Brislington Meadows shows that SNCI status gives no protection. Reserved Open Space land can be sold if it is ‘no longer needed for its open space function’.”
Protect Earth is currently restoring a 64-acre ancient replanted woodland in Cornwall to its former glory as a temperate rainforest, creating a 70-acre woodland on marginal grazing land in Powys and another 27 acres of woodland is being created in Flintshire.
Main photo: Hollis Morgan
Read next:
- Plans revealed for 85 new homes on former lead works site
- Work begins on West of England’s ‘biggest and most ambitious woodland to date’
- Works underway to improve safety on ‘dangerous’ corner in St George
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
