PLANS by an environmental charity to restore a native broadleafed woodland by replacing non-native trees have been criticised.

Arboricultural consultant Barry Kennedy said he would seek a tree preservation order on Hellhole Woodland, near Beamish, County Durham, to protect the area from felling proposals.

He was reacting to a Woodland Trust consultation document, which proposes the removal of non-native trees such as Corsican pine, Japanese larch and Douglas fir and western hemlock.

The area, which forms part of the Great North Forest, will be replanted with oak, ash birch and rowan.

Mr Kennedy, of Stanley, who has lodged an objection to the plans, said: "The clear felling of non-native species would be a disaster in any amenity woodland with so high a population of non-natives.

"Mass removals, as proposed, would mean that in seven years the majority of woodland would be lost and new trees would take up to 50 years to grow."

He also questioned the thinning of well-established beech trees, which the Woodland Trust argues are only native to the South-West.

Mr Kennedy said: "It is a natural process for plants to spread their range and grow where they grow well.

"The Woodland Trust is attempting a King Canute-like action in preventing nature's progress."

The woodland officer for the charity, Gary Haley, said the proposals, which were being put on hold for five years while the red squirrel population in the area was monitored, were not set in stone.

He said: "We have taken on board the concerns about clear felling and will review the rate of work to ensure a tree cover remains during the transitional period."

He said it was academically accepted that trees present at the end of last Ice Age, 10,000 years ago, were regarded as native.

Beech trees were only introduced to the North-East when they became fashionable two centuries ago, he said.

He said: "Nobody believes you can recreate an ecosystem. What the management plan is aimed at is restoring the remnants of native species already there and recreating a mixed broadleafed woodland."

The plans will have to be approved by the Forestry Commission before they are implemented.

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