We have been refused permission to plant a tree next to Rushington Copse on Maidenhead Golf Course, as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative to mark the Platinum Jubilee.
We wanted to plant a tree in memoriam to honour Her Majesty the Queen as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy scheme, and to raise awareness of the 20 acres of woodlands at Maidenhead Golf Course which are estimated to be lost under our council’s plans to develop the site. After all, this is the Royal Borough and the woodlands on the golf course were once part of the Forest of Windsor.
We asked RBWM for permission to plant our tree at the Ancient Woodland of Rushington Copse, said to be “protected” under development plans.
Sadly permission was refused by Emmanuel Ogedengbe, Head of Development at the RBWM Property Company Ltd, who responded to us on 18 October saying: ‘In the current circumstance and with the knowledge that the Maidenhead Great Park Group has an ongoing legal challenge against the RBWM in relation to the adopted Borough Local Plan, we will not be able to engage any further on your request.”
We find this confusing for two reasons. Firstly, we were unaware that the ownership or management of the site had been transferred to the RBWM Property Company, and we’d like to know when, how and why this happened. And secondly, why is permission to plant a tree at Rushington Copse being refused when the council has promised to protect this important area of Ancient Woodland held in public ownership?”
We will be asking these questions at the next Full Council meeting on Tuesday 22 November, when our petition calling for better monitoring of air pollution in the Borough will be debated. At 6 pm, ahead of that meeting we are planning another demonstration outside Maidenhead Town Hall calling for our woodlands and greenspace to be protected, as the loss of these trees and spaces will make air pollution in our town much worse.
We hope that many hundreds of local people will join us, as it’s vital to demonstrate just how high feelings are running in response to the significant loss of green space that is planned in our town.
For more information about our demonstration outside Maidenhead Town Hall on Tuesday 22 November at 6pm, go to https://maidenheadgreatpark.co.uk/air-pollution-petition-to-be-debated-at-22-november-rbwm-council-meeting
