From the air, the effect of removing the trees from one side of Walcombe Slade is dramatic ....
Scrub and tree clearance work on the southern slope of the Gully and the Bristol side of the Gorge proper, and in Fairyland, is set to recommence. A long serving member of the Downs Committee was quoted in the Bristol Evening Post (July 8th 2008), as saying letting the area remain wild was not an option. This point of view, that nature cannot be left to run wild, really sums up the position of Bristol City Council with respect to the management of the Downs and Gorge. This is curious because the Landscape Assessment, commissioned by Bristol City Parks Department, describes the landscape character of the Avon Gorge in these terms:
Moreover the presence of Wilmott's Whitebeam (one of Bristol's unique trees) in the Gully is a direct result of the area being allowed to return to nature. This species is of special scientific interest because it has evolved over a very short timescale, and possibly would not have come into existance if the area had been managed as the Council now propose. Leading scientific authorities on these rare trees would much prefer that the area was left to nature.
The bureaucrats at Natural England (an unelected quango), think that they know better. And at the last Downs Committee meeting, the Downs Ranger said:
It was also stated that the Downs should be managed as a Public Park. Not so. The Gorge and Downs are a natural landscape, and should not be managed like Redland Green or Eastville Park. A much lighter touch is needed.
We took some pictures of the trees and vegetation here, read on ...