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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Ancient woodland threatened by £156m Manadon upgrade in Plymouth | Ancient woodland threatened by £156m Manadon upgrade in Plymouth |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| Campaigner Dave Curno is concerned a road expansion scheme could threaten ancient woodland on the edge of Plymouth | Campaigner Dave Curno is concerned a road expansion scheme could threaten ancient woodland on the edge of Plymouth |
| Trees in an area alongside ancient woodland could be cut down and homes and gardens compulsorily purchased as part of a £156m scheme to improve a traffic junction. | |
| Plymouth City Council is consulting on plans to add new lanes on the approaches and exits of Manadon roundabout to the north of the city to increase capacity. | Plymouth City Council is consulting on plans to add new lanes on the approaches and exits of Manadon roundabout to the north of the city to increase capacity. |
| Tree protection campaigners were concerned that could mean cutting down trees in Manadon Wood and they said there was a lack of trust in the council after it cut down more than 100 trees at night in Armada Way. | |
| The council insisted the ancient woodland would not be affected by the scheme and some trees would be felled but three new trees would be planted for every one lost. | |
| Manadon Woods are thought to date back hundreds of years | Manadon Woods are thought to date back hundreds of years |
| One of the proposals is to add another lane on the approach to the roundabout on the A386 Outland Road which runs alongside ancient woodland. | One of the proposals is to add another lane on the approach to the roundabout on the A386 Outland Road which runs alongside ancient woodland. |
| Dave Curno is a volunteer with Plymouth Tree People, a charity that works to protect and increase the number of trees in the city. | Dave Curno is a volunteer with Plymouth Tree People, a charity that works to protect and increase the number of trees in the city. |
| "The council has said there will be a lot of trees that need to be removed and they will be doing a three-for-one replacement," he said. | |
| "Our worry is that doesn't value the trees as they are - so a little sapling might not need replacing whereas some of the ancient or veteran trees are much more valuable and the ancient woodland in particular is irreplaceable." | "Our worry is that doesn't value the trees as they are - so a little sapling might not need replacing whereas some of the ancient or veteran trees are much more valuable and the ancient woodland in particular is irreplaceable." |
| Mr Curno said following the Armada Way tree-felling, trust in the council "does need to be built up". | Mr Curno said following the Armada Way tree-felling, trust in the council "does need to be built up". |
| He said: "The Armada Way independent learning review stated that trust is the one thing the council needed to work on and this is the sort of scheme they can use to work on that trust." | He said: "The Armada Way independent learning review stated that trust is the one thing the council needed to work on and this is the sort of scheme they can use to work on that trust." |
| Campaigners are concerned a new lane could affect ancient woodland alongside the approach road to Manadon | |
| Plymouth City Council said the Manadon plans "are not expected to affect any ancient woodland". | |
| "Our designers are aware of the location of these ancient trees and have done all they can to avoid them," a spokesman said. | |
| The government issued guidance around development near ancient woodland which states a "buffer zone" of at least 15m (50ft) is required. | |
| It should be larger in cases where there was expected to be air pollution "from development that results in a significant increase in traffic", according to the guidance. | |
| The city council said it was also "aware of the required buffer zone and can confirm that the scheme is outside of this area". | |
| It said: "We have been open in all of our promotion and engagement work that in order to make this scheme possible, we will need to fell a significant number of trees." | |
| It said when it knew how many trees would need to be cut down it would carry out more public consultation. | |
| It said concerns raised over the woodland at Manadon would "absolutely be considered in the next stage of design work". | |
| John Stephens, the cabinet member for transport, said Plymouth needed to plan for the future | John Stephens, the cabinet member for transport, said Plymouth needed to plan for the future |
| John Stephens, cabinet member for transport at the Labour-led council, said it was consulting on all aspects of the scheme: "We have learned, we are a learning council." | |
| Stephens said some trees would have to be removed "inevitably" but the council would replace each tree lost with "at least three trees". | Stephens said some trees would have to be removed "inevitably" but the council would replace each tree lost with "at least three trees". |
| Regarding the possibility of compulsory purchase orders on homes and land in the area to facilitate the project, Stephens said: "In all schemes where you're expecting improvements to lanes there might be the loss of some land but that wouldn't be against the will of the people who are actually living in them now." | |
| Plymouth City Council has £133m of funding from the Department for Transport to pay for the scheme and said it wanted to improve traffic flow for everyone passing through Manadon as the city expands. | Plymouth City Council has £133m of funding from the Department for Transport to pay for the scheme and said it wanted to improve traffic flow for everyone passing through Manadon as the city expands. |
| The local council member Chris Wood said there was a lot of concern in the area about the impact of the scheme | The local council member Chris Wood said there was a lot of concern in the area about the impact of the scheme |
| The effectiveness of the plans and the cost of the scheme are also being called into question by the Conservative councillor for the area, Chris Wood. | The effectiveness of the plans and the cost of the scheme are also being called into question by the Conservative councillor for the area, Chris Wood. |
| He said: "Plymouth does not have a very good track record of either financial management or project delivery. | He said: "Plymouth does not have a very good track record of either financial management or project delivery. |
| "The amount of disruption residents are going to face for 10 years - people losing their gardens, losing their houses as well. | |
| "There's a lot of concern locally and we need to make sure the council are actually listening and can adapt the scheme to suit local people's needs." | "There's a lot of concern locally and we need to make sure the council are actually listening and can adapt the scheme to suit local people's needs." |
| More information events will take place on Friday at Manadon Sports Hub and on Saturday at Central Library with the public consultation closing on 24 June. | More information events will take place on Friday at Manadon Sports Hub and on Saturday at Central Library with the public consultation closing on 24 June. |
| Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk. | Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk. |