Football pitch scheme sidelined

A High Court judge has blocked proposals to cut down 7,000 trees to make way for a youth football league training ground.

Villagers living close to Newbottle Wood, in Houghton, County Durham, went to court after developers Durham Estates planned to create 20 football pitches at the wood, near Sunderland.

Mr Justice Collins ruled that the woodland, part of the Great North Forest, should remain untouched. The Trees and Wildlife Action Group (Twag), formed by local residents, persuaded the judge to quash a decision of the Forestry Commission which was vital to the go-ahead for the football pitch plan, which also included a changing pavilion and car-parking for 184 cars.

The football pitches scheme, put forward by Durham Estates Ltd, won planning permission from Sunderland City Council two years ago, but it fell to the Forestry Commission to decide whether an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was required before the work could go ahead.

The Commission decided no EIA was necessary thereby clearing the way for work to start on the scheme, until Twag - backed by the Friends of the Earth - won a court protection order to preserve the trees.

The judge said the Forestry Commissioners had adopted "a wrong approach in their consideration of their functions".

A Forestry Commission spokesman said: "The decisions taken by the Forestry Commission in regard to this development rigorously followed our established procedures.

"We accept that Twag and the FoE have concerns, and the legal process now enables these to be reviewed alongside the planning and legal guidance that we have followed. We are consulting our legal advisers to prepare for the next stage of the legal process."

Roger Milne

5 July 2007