Campaign to protect ancient Welsh trees
A Woodland Trust campaign to launch a petition to strengthen legislation to protect ancient trees in Wales has launched


The Woodland Trust has launched a public petition to prompt the Welsh Assembly to strengthen legislation for the protection of ancient trees. This is timed to coincide with the Assembly gearing up to consider draft bills on heritage, natural ecosystems and the creation of a single environment body to manage the Welsh environment.
The charity's Rory Francis explains: ‘Although current Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) serve a useful purpose, what's missing is support for the positive management of ancient trees. If you own a listed property, help is on offer to help you maintain it. No similar system for the benign management of old trees exists. We feel a more transparent system of advice on grant aid should be made available.'
The trust wants TPO legislation to be made ‘fit for purpose', including removing the blanket exemption from protection of trees which are ‘dead or dying'. It wants references to dangerous trees to be reworded to distinguish between those that constitute a ‘real and present danger' and others that don't and would, therefore, be eligible for TPO status.
Wales is especially rich in venerable churchyard yews, some of which have been subjected to drastic surgery in the mistaken belief that they present a threat to public safety. Visit www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/campaigning/our-campaigns.
Image: treespictures.net
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
'He unleashed a series of war cries, then intercepted the vole mid-air': There's nothing remotely common about the common kestrel
Known in Orkney as ‘moosie-haak’, kestrels are fierce hunters but have seriously declined and are now an amber-listed species.
-
101 gold rats, a 'self portrait as a horse' and a tribute to motherhood take home top prizes at this year's Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
The Royal Academy has announced its 2025 prize winners, spanning talented sculptors, painters and print-makers, with works on display in London until August 19.