A petition supporting a Tree Preservation Order for ancient woodland at Reservoir Wood in Llandough has reached 1,000 signatures.
Vale of Glamorgan Council issued a TPO on 23rd December, with the developers who recently purchased the land having 28 days to respond during a consultation period.
If objections are received during that consultation period, then the TPO will be considered by the Council’s Planning Committee before a decision is made on whether to confirm the order.
Local resident Laura Parrack launched a Change.org petition, supporting the issuing of a TPO to make sure the ancient woodland remains accessible to local residents, nature and nature enthusiasts.
Speaking to Bro Radio’s Vale This Week, Laura said she was bowled away by the support from local residents.
“I thought we’d maybe get around 200, 250 signatures if I was lucky. I’ve been amazed at how much people have got behind it, and have been sharing it in all kinds of places, on social media and discussing it amongst themselves.”
“It’s been overwhelmingly positive and really lovely to hear all of the comments that people have been leaving about it. People sharing what the woods mean to them and how they appreciate them, even how they played there as a child 60 years ago. It’s been really lovely to see all of that support.”
Reservoir Wood is a small area of woodland, situated between Llandough Village and the Hospital site, along the hill towards Pen-Y-Turnpike Road.
“It’s a beautiful little kind of sanctuary, that feels like a cross between a rainforest and an ancient forest, it's very mossy and full of ferns, with lots of quite old trees. Some of them are probably about 200 years old, the oak trees and beech trees.” Said Laura Parrack, the founder of the Change.org petition.”
“My main motivation in trying to get the woodland protected is that it’s absolutely teeming with wildlife. There’s tawny owls, bats, there’s all kinds of birds, songbirds and slowworms, I’ve even heard people say they’ve seen great crested newts in there, so it’s a very unique ecosystem within the ancient woodland.”
“One thing people don’t consider with developments is that replanting new trees doesn’t replace the ecosystem that’s lost when you destroy an ancient woodland. It takes hundreds of years to develop a really intricate ecosystem that so many animals and insects rely on, and you can’t replace that by planting new trees.”
Vale of Glamorgan Council has confirmed that a TPO has been issued for the Reservoir Wood site, with the aim of providing an extra layer of protection for the woodland site.
A spokesperson for Vale of Glamorgan Council said, “The TPO was made following a request from residents and reflects concerns about potential future loss of trees in the area. Much of the woodland is already designated as Ancient Woodland, and although the land was found not to be suitable for future development projects, the TPO provides an additional safeguard by requiring Council consent for any works involving the protected trees.
“The TPO is subject to a 28-day consultation period. If objections are received during that period, it will then be considered by Planning Committee before a decision is made on whether to confirm the Order.”
Those wishing to support the petition can visit www.change.org
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