A Fresh View of Thorpe Woodlands

Comment by Sid Norton on Iwitness24 after his first visit to Thorpe Woods.

I have heard so much about Thorpe Woods and the plans to build in there, I thought I would take a look for myself today and after spending several hours exploring the area, I can only say it would be an absolute travesty if one single house was allowed to be built in these woods. As an amateur naturalist it is quite obvious that these woods are not only beautiful but are rich in wildlife especially the bird population, which I would go as far to say that it could be unrivalled in Norfolk, now that’s a bold statement, isn’t it? Now building on arable land is bad enough, but building in woodland is a serious no, no and should never be allowed to happen as we will all be so much poorer if these unscrupulous developers and land owners are ever allowed to get their way. It’s such a pity one of our wildlife trusts, perhaps Norfolk Wildlife Trust don’t considering raising money and purchasing this land for the benefit of all. I for one would have no hesitation if giving money to what would be an extremely worthy cause. What do you think?

Flourishing Fungi in Thorpe Woods

(Read on for article 'Flourishing Fungi in Thorpe Woods')

The Thorpe woods gallery now has a new section dedicated to some of the simplest and less obvious plants, the Fungi that form an essential link in the intricate life of the woodland habitat.

The abundance of fungi that's been present this Autumn is evidence of the wealth and heritage of life in the soil of Thorpe Woods. The fungi, many only flowering in the autumn, are ever present in the soil and in the living and fallen trees processing and passing on the essential elements of life to the next generation of plants and trees which in turn support all the life of the woods.

This year, photographers, naturalists and friends of the woods have photographed a growing selection of the fruit of some of these fungi species, and with photographer David Boulton
now adding to the Gallery and fungi expert Tony Leech helping where possible to name those discovered, it should be possible to build up a good partial record.

If you'd like to add to those discovered you might still have time before winter arrives and many die back until next year, Also some fungi do survive the colder weather and others appear in very early spring.

Please note if you go looking for fungi that many species are beautiful but some are seriously poisonous.

QUESTIONS ABOUT QUESTIONS

Friends of Thorpe Woodlands have raised concerns with Broadland District Council's planning department over a Draft Framework Document for the North-East Norwich Growth Triangle. The document states that the environmental value of Racecourse plantation has been questioned. The doubts over the woods' "ecological and arboricultural values" can only have been raised by the landowners, who hope to make millions from developing the woods.

FTW are also concerned about the document's description of Thorpe woodlands as simply "coniferous plantation" and again later as "coniferous commercial with some broad-leaved woodland". Surely the planners ought to know by now that the woodlands are over two thirds semi-natural broadleaved and mixed woodland (which is only increasing), with some isolated areas remaining of conifer plantation.

Thorpe woodlands was understood by it's owners over a decade ago to be a varied and improving habitat, all designated as a County Wildlife Site since 1997. This was confirmed for them in the "Thorpe Estate Forest Plan for 2001-2020'" which was produced for the landowners in 2000 by a forestry consultancy. The description in this present planning draft seems closer to the misleading description of the woods used by the owners at their failed planning Charrette last year.

Members of FTW have requested that, as the final version of this document will form the framework for future decision making, the unqualified statements seeking to minimise the woodlands' value are explained and attributed to those who would profit from them. And, in the case of the woodlands' description, that those points are corrected as they are clearly inaccurate and render the woods more vulnerable than they deserve be.

Also worrying, in the same draft document, is the fourth planning option titled "Urban Extension" (see above with Racecourse wood outlined for clarity).

Under this option, Racecourse plantation - the heart of Thorpe woods and the County Wildlife Site - is zoned for housing development with new roads. This is especially concerning as, by BDC's own criteria, the recognised ecological value of Racecourse should provide strong protection against development.

We wonder what BDC's Conservation Team will have to say about this: last year they told FTW that they had decided they couldn't put a Tree Preservation Order on the woods because: "we don't consider the woods to be under immediate threat from development". Well they are now, under one of BDC's own planning options!

The document containing all these inaccuracies and unattributed challenges to the importance of the woods is only a draft, meaning that there is scope for corrections and changes to be made. FTW will be pressing for such changes. It is vital that BDC's material is as factual and throughly researched as possible before it becomes finalised.

Some very significant new information about the ecological importance of the woods is expected to materialise very soon, which BDC will need to consider carefully before proceeding with their draft framework plan. Keep watching the blog for updates!

Local photographer adds to the Thorpe woods wildlife gallery.

Thorpe st Andrews based phographer Tony Howes, has during his walks in Belmore and Browns collected a great variety of the Woods furry, feather'd and insect inhabitants plus some of its less and more familiar plants. He's kindly supplied a collection of his favourites and they've now been added

to the 'Friends of thorpe woods' gallery.

Check out the gallery and if you have any wildlife or landscape pics you've taken around the wood contact: Paul on 01603 449839 or you can email them to: paulsnewplace@ntlworld.com.

Important Broadland Planning Meetings

In previous posts we have mentioned that the next few months will be a critical time for the future of Thorpe Woods. Over the last year local people have fought to save these much loved woods, however the owners remain determined to build an estate of over 600 houses over them.

Currently the woods are not included within Broadland District Councils plans for housing development and our in fact identified as green space.

However as a result of the recently adopted Joint Core Strategy the council have placed Thorpe Woods, and the surrounding area within what is called a Development Triangle.

Over the next 3 to 4 months the council will be selecting sites within that triangle for development and identifying sites that should be retained as green spaces. It is essential that Thorpe Woods retains it protection as a green space within these new plans and is not identified as a potential site for development.

This is where you can play an important part in making clear to the council that you want Thorpe Woods to be protected and safeguarded from any threat of development.

The council are about to consult on the Area Action Plan which will identify where within the Triangle future development will be allowed to take place. Next month they will be holding two exhibitions which look at this consultation and possible sites for development, these are taking place at:

Morse Pavilion, Recreation Ground, Laundry Lane, Thorpe St Andrew, NR7 0XP
on Wednesday 28th September between 12.30 and 7.30pm

Thorpe End Village Hall on Thursday 29th September between 12.30 and 7.30pm.

Following on from these the council will be holding a series of workshops which will cover development plans and most importantly the Area Action Plan.These workshops will take place at:

Thorpe End Village Hall on Tuesday 27th October between 6.30 and 9pm

Sprowston Parish Council Offices, Recreation Ground Road NR7 8EW, Sprowston on 24th October between 6.30 and 9pm.

Rackheath Holy Trinity Church Hall on 13th October between 6.30 to 9pm

We will certainly be attending the exhibition and workshops and we would ask all local people and members of the Friends of Thorpe Woodlands to attend if they possibly can.

To book a place on one of the workshops call the council policy unit on 01603 430567 or email policy@broadland.gov.uk.

The campaign to save Thorpe Woods has had many successes, the Friends have several hundred members with new people still joining, our local councillors are supporting us and the press has provided us with a great deal of coverage.

Your support is essential and with it we can save Thorpe woods for future generations.

Petition to save Amazon from law change danger

The Amazon is in serious danger: Brazil is on the verge of gutting its forest protection laws -- unless we act now, vast tracts of our planet’s lungs could be opened up to clear-cutting devastation.

This threat to the Amazon has sparked widespread anger and protests across the country and tensions are rising. In an effort to stifle criticism, armed thugs, allegedly hired by loggers, have murdered environmental advocates. But the movement is fighting back -- this weekend, brave indigenous people are leading massive marches across Brazil to demand action and inside sources say President Dilma is considering vetoing the changes.

79% of Brazilians support a veto of the forest law changes and this internal pressure is leading some in Dilma's administration to back a veto. But we need a global cry of solidarity with the Brazilian people to really force Dilma's hand. Our global petition will be boldly displayed on banners at the front of the massive marches for Amazon protection. Let's urgently build a 1.5-million-strong petition to SAVE THE AMAZON! Sign now and send this on to everyone.

To sign the petition, click the link:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_amazon_a/?vl

Update

The hacking issue seems to have been solved. It was apparently a random phishing attempt by somebody in eastern Europe. Passwords etc have been changed. However, the species list update (as promised a few weeks ago) will still be delayed for some time. This is mainly because quite a lot of work is involved: there is a large number of new species to add, and we are still waiting to positively identify a couple of specimens. Until this work is complete I think it best to keep our powder dry.

Apologies to all blog-followers who are interested in the woods' ecology. But for the forseeable future, I'm afraid you'll just have to make do with last year's very out of date species list. When the situation changes, a post will appear here to let you all know.