Have a say in how money is spent in your area to improve people's lives..... follow the link below and vote now or come along to the Finmill Centre on Wed between three and six pm for more information.

Please share.......

OPEN MEETING Come along to the next meeting on Monday 4th Dec at 7pm to have your say on the proposed route changes for your 32/33 bus services. Finmill Centre, Findcastle Street.

Register your opinion or lose your local bus service as you know it.....

Your chance to have your say....

The Woodalnd Trust Scotland Studio 2, 10 Queensferry Street Edinburgh EH2 4PG 0343 770 5480 www.woodlandtrust.org.uk Dear Sir or Madam I am writing on behalf of the Woodland Trust to express our support for the campaign which opposes the development of a sports complex at Caird Park in Dundee. The loss of trees and potential damage to irreplaceable ancient woodland is, in our view, unacceptable. The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. We have four main aims: no further loss of ancient woodland, restoring and improving woodland biodiversity, increasing new native woodland and increasing peoples understanding and enjoyment of woodland. The Woodland Trust has 500,000 members and supporters. We own over 1,250 sites across the UK covering around 23,000 hectares (57,000) acres. The proposed plans include the removal of 73 of the 165 trees in this area of Caird Park. This loss of public green space is highly objectionable. The proposed development will provide facilities for a very small specialised group – high performance athletes in particular sports. Currently, Caird park provides a centrally located, easily accessible, green space which caters for all of Dundee. Local residents use the park for walking, jogging, fitness classes and relaxation. Trees and green spaces are known to be good for health – they encourage physical activity and have been proven to improve mental health and wellbeing. At a time at which Sport Development policy is increasingly being criticised for promoting elite performance at the expense of the health of the wider population, this development seems poorly thought through. Not only does the development include the planned removal of a large number of trees, its close proximity to ancient Woodland means that it could well result in damage to one of the most precious and bio-diverse habitats that exist in Scotland. Oak Ward Wood, which lies just north of the proposed site, is clearly visible on the first ordinance survey map of Scotland from 1860. Although the wood does not appear on the Scottish Ancient Woodland Inventory, there are a number of known inaccuracies on the SAWI and it is not an infallible source. The presence of Oak Ward Wood on the first Ordinance Survey clearly demonstrates that the Woodland is ancient and means that it falls in to SNH’s ancient Woodland classification 2a – “semi-natural woodland from maps of 1750 (1a) or 1860 (2a) and continuously wooded to the present day.” Ancient woodlands are now very rare in Scotland and they are incredibly valuable. Because of the continuous tree cover over hundreds of years, ancient woodlands have important features such as undisturbed soil and a range of flora and fauna which are not found in modern woodland. The role of people in shaping the modern landscape through industry and agriculture means that woods planted today are unlikely to have the same ecological features in hundreds of years that remnant ancient woodland have today. Therefore the ancient woodland which remains to us is truly irreplaceable and must be valued as such. It may be argued that because the proposed development will not involve the felling of the Oak Ward Wood that it will have no impact upon it. However, this is absolutely not the case. The lack of any significant buffer area between development and the ancient woodland means that it is highly likely there will be damage to this precious environment if the development goes ahead. Development impacts on ancient woodland in a number of ways: • Chemically through acidification, eutrophication and toxic pollution; • Disturbance by noise, light, trampling and other human activity; • Fragmentation as a result of the destruction of adjacent habitats, • The cumulative effect of development is more damaging to ancient woodland than individual effects which should not be considered in isolation. Plant and animal populations can be exposed to damaging ‘edge effects’ from outside the woodland. External impacts increase with the intensity of land use, in this case the development of a sports centre in the place of a park. Detrimental ‘edge effects’ have been shown to penetrate woodland causing changes in microclimate that extend up to three times the canopy height in from the forest edges. Detrimental edge effects include localised changes in humidity, temperature and wind. Furthermore, this development clearly contravenes the Scottish Planning Policy which states that trees, in particular ancient Woodland should be protected from development. Ancient semi-natural woodland is an irreplaceable resource and, along with other woodlands, hedgerows and individual trees, especially veteran trees of high nature conservation and landscape value, should be protected from adverse impacts resulting from development. (p.49) The removal of the 65 trees and potential damage to ancient Woodland is also a clear contravention of the Dundee Local Development Plan. The plan states that “New development should contribute to the expansion of tree planting and woodland development where appropriate and must ensure the survival of existing healthy mature trees”p.54 The plan also highlights the importance of Wildlife Corridors (p.51) and the plan maps clearly show Oak Ward as being part of a Wildlife Corridor. This corridor will almost certainly be adversely affected by development so close by and may even be completely destroyed. Therefore, in conclusion, the Woodland Trust would like to offer our support to the campaign which opposes the Caird Park development. We believe the loss of so many trees currently available to be enjoyed by all is unacceptable. Furthermore, the potential detrimental impact on ancient Woodland is far too high a risk to take. Thank you for taking the time to consider the opinion of the Woodland Trust. We look forward to hearing the outcome of this planning application. Kind Regards Catherine Pendreigh Public Affair Assistant The Woodland Trust Scotland 100% recycled paper. The Woodland Trust is a charity registered in Scotland (No. SC038885) and in England and Wales (No. 294344). A non-profit making company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No. 1982873. Registered Office: Kempton Way , Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6LL. The Woodland Trust logo is a registered trademark.

Come along and have your say on the NEW plans for the proposed Centre for Sports Excellence that is to be built in Caird Park. This is your chance to,voice your opinions....

Come along and have your say......

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION...... come along to the Finmill Centre from 4pm on MONDAY 29th MAY ..... Your chance to view and comment on the new plans for the Centre of Sports Excellence planned for within Caird Park.