Detailed Aims:

• Full planning controls extended to all future construction in the two Tower Woods and the two threatened SSSI woods. This needs Canterbury City Council (CCC) to make something called an 'Article 4 Direction';

• Natural England to consider protecting both tower woods (north-west Woodlands Wood and Oxenden Shaw) by designating them each as an SSSIs and Historic England to consider protecting the unexcavated archaeological remains in Oxenden Shaw as a 'scheduled ancient monument';

• Enforcement Orders (CCC action required) to remove the buildings (very large and all built in the last couple of years, out of sight both of public rights-of-way and the road, using a weakness in the planning system) from the Tower Woods, in cases where it is clear that forestry is not or cannot truly be a building's primary purpose (which was the developers' claim when throwing them up);

• Enforcement Order to remove construction rubble dumped in the Tower Woods and the land made good;

• A moratorium on further development in the two Tower Woods until both full, independent archaeological and ecological surveys have been carried out;

• CCC to implement properly its own Conservation Order along the Woodlands Road through the tower woods (which forms part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network route 16); and

• A stop to permanent tree clearance without replanting. Tree felling is part of forestry. But replanting, with the correct species in ancient semi-natural woodland, is essential. Permanent woodland clearance is unacceptable in these ancient woodlands.

• In 'planted-over ancient woodland' (known as 'PAWs', where ancient semi-natural woodland has historically been planted over with exotic species), ideally the woodland would be managed back to a semi-natural condition. Failing that, replanting in PAWs must be for long-term rotation. Short-term rotation, like Christmas tree plantations, are unacceptable. The latter is highly damaging to ancient woodland and, furthermore, make no contribution to the district's carbon sequestration target.

National Campaign:

Watch Over Adisham's Woods is making contact with local communities elsewhere in England, suffering with their own local woods put through this mincer. A sad common experience in the countryside: a whole wood, once managed as one integrated whole, carved up into small parcels and then sold off to many individual owners, each new owner fencing off their small plot impeding mammal movement and migration, integrated management lost, sympathetic management (which is management to protect and enhance the ecology, landscape and history of the wood) frequently lost, and then the killer, often urbanised, developed and built on.

See Save Box Wood as another local campaign.

Sadly, woodlandsdotco is not the only company with this business model. There is now a distinct possibility that a national campaign could be run by a national organisation against. The objectives for a national campaign are:

• All ancient woodlands to be removed from the scope of 'permitted development' (the town & planning system weakness being exploited to allow what are described by developers as 'forestry buildings'), so that, in future, new buildings, hard-topped tracks/roadways, security lighting, dumping of construction waste and fencing require full planning permission inside all woods on the Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI).

• No building in any woodland, whether ancient or a 'new' wood created since 1600CE, to be allowed through 'permitted development' procedures, only by full planning permission.

• A presumption in planning law against the lotting of ancient wood and onward sale of lots to be enforced by all planning authorities. 'Lotting', the carving up of ancient woodlands, should only be permitted if full planning permission (or act of parliament/private members bill) has been granted on the basis that this is needed for national reasons.

• Destruction of ancient woodland should only be permitted if there is a national over-riding imperative.

• Permanent clearances within an ancient woodland should only be allowed only if a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has shown that the environmental gain outweighs the loss. The presumption should always be against permanent clearance inside an ancient woodland.

• Management of the two types of ancient woodland - to follow the Woodland Trust guidance.
  Ancient semi-natural woodland (as shown on AWI) should be managed appropriately in line with enhancing and protecting the historic and wildlife richness of each wood and to promote quiet access. Any replanting in ancient semi-natural woods should be with native species.
  Planted Over Ancient Woodlands (PAWs) would preferably be replanted with native species but, if with exotic species, the plan must be for long-cycle mature trees. This at least will help the carbon sequestration target of a district and the country. Short-term rotation, such as Christmas tree plantations, should never be acceptable in ancient woodland of any sort.