http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-iraq-inquiry-797153.html
Sir: It is clear from Sir Martin Doughty's defence of Natural England's habitat
management policy (Letters, 12 March) that Natural England, from the top down,
neither knows nor cares about landscape aesthetics. The appearance of landscapes
that have been given the Natural England makeover is invariably appalling and
remains so for many years.
It may be true that the biodiversity of England's lowland heaths is enhanced by
management, but it does not need to be the kind of management that creates an
aesthetic wasteland. Natural England has a duty to care for the aesthetic values
of our landscapes. Here in Bristol, we are fighting proposals that are supported
by Natural England that will degrade the aesthetic and visual amenity value of
the Avon Gorge.
They need to get a grip on this issue and develop a policy for landscape aesthetics
if we are not to see this famous landscape altered for the worst.
Roger Yates
Avon Gorge & Downswatch Bristol
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-bird-flight-446544.html
Sir: Lovers of the landscape of Bristol Downs and the Avon Gorge are faced
with a similar problem to that being experienced by the unfortunate inhabitants
of the Ashdown Forest (report, 21 April).
There are plans in the pipeline to cut down half of the hanging woodland on the
Bristol side of the Avon Gorge. One key area has already been felled.
Natural England wants to recreate the open grassland habitats that have slowly
returned to natural woodland since the cessation of grazing before the Second World War.
As in the Ashdown Forest, there is valuable biodiversity in the Avon Gorge. Here, too,
professionals charged with its management appear to have little understanding of the
aesthetic impact of their activities.
Here, too, they argue the toss about the nature of beauty. But the truth is that most
people enjoy natural-looking landscapes and these are not achieved by the kinds of
aggressive habitat-management favoured in conservation circles.
It is unfortunate that the drive to secure the biodiversity of our natural landscapes
has not been balanced by the need to preserve the spirit and beauty of place. Conservation
managers have a limited brief for aesthetic considerations and little training in this
field as is shown by outrage their activities have caused.
ROGER YATES
BRISTOL DOWNSWATCH