It was
quite a shock to discover last weekend that the landscape within the woods at
Lower Sprotborough had been changed out of all recognition. If, when you commenced your walk, you were
expecting to find the usual winter landscape of leafless trees and shrubs
lining the footpath, you will have been disappointed to find that in parts they
have been completely decimated.
It was
understood a year or more ago that Yorkshire Wildlife, the contractor appointed
to manage the woodlands by Lafarge Aggregates, hoped to prune out some of the
trees and reinstate the hedge, but we understood that scheme had fallen by the
wayside due to lack of funds. However,
we now discover that since the quarry closed, Lafarge has been selling off
parts of the land and that the farmer who has rented the fields for many years
has now purchased them. Presumably the
trees, etc, were included.
It is rumoured
that the farmer intends to either fence the land or allow the remnants of trees
and bushes to re-grow into a hedge.
The
loss of such a swathe of habitat all in one go is quite devastating, but it had
been neglected for a long time and, if a hedge is allowed to re-grow, it
shouldn't mean a permanent loss. It is sad to lose the archway of trees by the 'leg o' mutton' field, but
hopefully it too will recover in time.
