'Nobody wants it' - Row over conifer forest in Scottish community prolonged over fresh application delays

Scottish Woodlands, a forestry management company, is developing plans for a predominantly Sitka spruce forest on Warblaw Hill, next to Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway, under the Scottish Government’s forestry grant scheme.

If approved by government agency Scottish Forestry, Scottish Woodlands would have started planting this spring.

But the company said its application has now been delayed until late summer.

A spokesperson for Scottish Woodlands said this was due to the process taking longer than anticipated.

The Warblaw planting plans, which first emerged last year, prompted fierce backlash from the Langholm community and saw the development of the Save Warblaw Action Group (SWAG).

The group claimed the community would “disappear under a carpet of Sitka spruce” if the planting was approved given an already established presence of conifer plantations in the area.

It also cited environmental concerns about planting on Warblaw Hill’s peaty soils.

SWAG said it believes the delay to the application is partly caused by the strength in opposition to the scheme.

A SWAG spokesperson said: “The Langholm community is fiercely proud of its surrounding hills and its connection to the landscape. More than a thousand locals signed a petition in the town and over 500 signed an online petition. The local paper E&L advertiser supports our campaign, as does our MP David Mundell and our MSP Oliver Mundell. Nobody wants it.”

The proposals cover an area of 1,050 hectares of which 473 hectares is planned for predominantly Sitka and part native broadleaf woodland creation.

Scottish Woodland said the balance of the area would be retained for agricultural use, and “this includes all the areas identified as deep peat, following extensive ecological surveys.”

Planning documents show about 30 per cent (about 20,100ha) of a ten-mile radius area around Langholm (72,867ha) is already primarily conifer forestry. A further 2,457 ha of land is potentially under forestry development, including Warblaw.

SWAG said the planting, if it were to go ahead, would link up to 350ha of a predominantly Sitka spruce forest planted by the previous landowner.

Campaigners have also questioned the application given the community group managing the next door estate at Tarras Valley Nature Reserve (TVNR), have been given public funding to remove self-seeding Sitka from the land.

SWAG said it is “hopeful” the delay to the application process suggests “Scottish Woodlands and Scottish Forestry are jointly reflecting on the inappropriateness of the Warblaw scheme to plant commercial monoculture forestry on what has officially been designated as a ‘sensitive’ site.”

A SWAG spokesperson added: “The onus should be on the applicant to prove beyond doubt that there will be a net benefit to the climate by planting on peaty soils which are already doing a great job in absorbing carbon.

“Both organisations should be using this time to exercise due diligence, particularly in light of yet more scientific evidence which questions the benefits of monoculture tree planting schemes and underlines the importance of protecting our valuable peat. The yardstick for measuring success and the ‘correct outcome’ should be the planet, not profit.”

A spokesperson from Scottish Woodlands said: “We continue to work through the application with the regulator, Scottish Forestry, as part of their defined process under the Forestry Grant Scheme.

“Applications of this scale take time to ensure that the correct outcomes are achieved, and we are hopeful of submitting an application in late summer.”