Summary of Proof of Evidence by the National Trust in respect of Hatfield Forest.
I am Keith Martin Turner. I have been employed by the National Trust since 1988 and have been the Area Manager for the National Trust covering Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire since 1999.
1. Status of the National Trust
1.1 The National Trust is governed by its own Acts of Parliament. It is a registered charity with approximately 3.5 million members. An estimated 50 million visit the open air properties. (Main Proof Section 1)
2. The Purposes of the National Trust
2.1 Defined as “the permanent preservation for the benefit of the nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest and as regards lands for the preservation (so far as practicable) of their natural aspect features and animal and plant life” (M P Para 2.1)
3. Description of Hatfield Forest
3.1 It is 424 ha of woodland and grass plains connected historically with commoner’s rights and the kings deer and now owned by the National Trust. The assemblage of features found at Hatfield Forest is what is called a wood pasture: a land-use which combines pollarded trees and grazing animals. This was the usual land-use of those of the Royal Forests of medieval England that had trees. Hatfield Forest is one of the very few examples that still exist in working order. (M P Para 3.1 – 3.8)
4. What is a Forest?
4.1 Throughout the middle ages a forest was a place of deer, not necessarily a place of trees. Forest was originally a legal term, meaning the area within which people could be prosecuted for breaking Forest Law, largely for deer poaching. Forestal rights did not necessarily include the ownership of the land. Commoners, landowners and forestal rights could and did co-exist. (M P Para’s 4.1 – 4.4)
5. History Of Hatfield Forest
5.1 Much of the history of Hatfield Forest is taken from “The Last Forest” a book by Professor Oliver Rackham OBE first published in 1989. (M P Para 3.2)
5.2 The area occupied by Hatfield Forest has always been used for grazing and woodland. This continuity of vegetation cover means that the original geology has never been disturbed by man. (M P Para 5.2)
5.3 Hatfield is first referred to by name in the Domesday Book in 1086. By the 13th century the physical Forest was only about 20% larger than it is now. Not only is the Forest almost complete, but it is surrounded by a medieval landscape of agriculture and settlement which, except on the northern side still survives in recognisable form. (M P Para’s 5.4 & 5.5)
5.4 Originally the Crown owned both the land and the deer in Hatfield Forest. Having passed through various private hands (including that of Robert the Bruce) in 1446 Henry VI relinquished the Forestal rights and from that time the deer belonged to the landowner. (M P Para’s 5.6 & 5.7)
5.5 During the Middle Ages the Forest passed through a number of owners who were in constant conflict with commoners and woodwards (a traditional post of somebody who manages a wood). The survival of the medieval landscape at Hatfield is due to the checks and balances which prevented any one person from getting too much control over it. Thus the fabric of the Forest was very stable. (M P Para 5.8)
5.6 The reason Hatfield Forest is a supreme example is that contains all elements of a medieval Forest including buildings - a Forest Lodge with possible standing (for watching hunts) and Warren Cottage for the warrener who managed the pillow mounds where rabbits were raised. (M P Para’s 5.9 & 5.10)
5.7 In 1729 the Houbelon family purchased the property. They constructed the lake and Shell House which now form the heart of the visitor area. In 1857 they secured an Enclosure Act abolishing the common-rights. The Houbelon family owned the Forest until 1923. Bought for the nation by Edward North Buxton who passed it to the National Trust in 1924. (M P Para’s 5.12 & 5.13)
5.8 The significance of the Forest as a forest had gradually faded from memory after enclosure. It was the researches of Professor Oliver Rackham which woke up many (including the National Trust) to its real significance. The Forest is now managed by the National Trust to preserve all its elements as well as providing public access appropriate to the conservation value. (M P Para 5.14)
6. Historical & Cultural Significance of Hatfield Forest
6.1 “Hatfield is of supreme interest in that all the elements of a medieval Forest survive: deer, cattle, coppice woods, pollards, scrub, timber trees, grassland and fen, plus a seventeenth-century lodge and rabbit warren. As such it is almost certainly unique in England and possibly in the world. Hatfield Forest is the only place where one can step back into the Middle Ages to see, with only a small effort of the imagination, what a Forest looked like in use.” (My emphasis) Oliver Rackham, Trees and woodland in the British landscape, 1976. (M P Para 3.1)
6.2 Hatfield is unique as the last survivor in working order of the 80 or so wooded forests which were a most important part of the medieval English way of life. (M P Section 8.)
7. National Trust Management
7.1 Initially although the Trust recognized Hatfield as a royal Forest it was seen more as a public amenity than as an important historical landscape. Grazing was kept up but some of the woodland management was neglected. With emerging understanding of forests provided by Rackham the Trust reintroduced regular coppicing and fencing was replaced. Pollarding was also started again in the 1970s and since then the National Trust staff have developed ground-breaking arboricultural practices to consolidate the stability of the veteran trees to ensure that they will survive as long as possible. A survey in 2001 established that there are 850 veteran pollard trees at Hatfield Forest. Each tree now has its own prescription for future management with work being carried out annually. (M P Para’s 7.1 to 7.3)
7.2 The aim of the management is to keep the veteran pollards alive as long as possible so as to act as a bridge until the next generation of pollards reach maturity (over the last century few new pollards have been established). The bridging of the generations is vitally important for the survival of the many insects and plant species only associated with veteran trees. (M P Para 7.4)
7.3 With careful management the veteran trees can continue for well over a century if not more. However such trees are particularly liable to stress from outside sources such as drought, storm damage, etc. The National Trust has introduced strategies to mitigate some of these, but the consequences of predicted climate change will exacerbate stresses such as drought and mechanical damage through increased storminess, thus making it more difficult for the Trust to fulfil its legal obligations. (M P Para 7.6)
8. Nature Conservation Importance of Hatfield Forest National Nature Reserve
8.1 Hatfield Forest is one of the most significant areas of semi-natural habitat in Essex. The ecology is in notably pristine condition largely due to not being ploughed. The ancient trees, often in excess of 600 years old, created by traditional practices encompass much of what is significant about the Forest and each is unique in the ecosystem it supports. (M P Para’s 8.1 to 8.3)
8.2 Hatfield Forest is biologically of international importance because it provides a superb case study in historical ecology and the survival of the medieval landscape affords a direct link with the primeval vegetation cover of the country and its inhabitants. (M P Para 8.6)
9. Public Use
9.1 Currently the Forest attracts in excess of 200,000 visitors a year. The National Trust consider the honey pot area around the lake and Shell House is at about its maximum carrying capacity for visitor numbers. In order to manage these numbers strategies in controlling parking and eventually trying to move modern facilities off-site are being employed. (M P Para’s 9.4 & 9.5)
9.2 A wide variety of visitors are catered for with events, education groups, disabled facilities, walking trails and riding permits. (M P Para’s 9.7 to 9.10)
10. Impacts on Hatfield Forest of the Expansion of Stansted Airport
10.1 The significance of Hatfield Forest is the aesthetic, historic, scientific and social value of the property for past, present and future generations. It is this wide variety of individual elements that in combination give the Forest its outstanding significance. The real concern of the National Trust is that further expansion of Stansted Airport could degrade some of these values beyond critical points. (M P Para 10.1)
10.2 Visitors to Hatfield Forest are attracted to walk in a beautiful piece of historic countryside where they can escape the noise and stress of our towns and cities to be inspired and get mentally and physically refreshed. Whilst the peace and tranquility of the Forest can still be experienced for some of the time, it becoming increasingly difficult to do so all the time. There is no longer a single day in the year when a visitor can experience any major period of peace and tranquility. (M P Para 10.2)
10.3 The other major concern revolves around levels of NO2 and its potential impact on the vegetation of Hatfield Forest. The unique assemblage of the Forest is already subject to a wide range of stresses including air pollution. Air traffic is making a significant contribution to pollution which if it continues to grow may pose a critical threat. It is therefore important to adopt the precautionary principle and permit no further development at Stansted until such time as BAA is able acceptably to demonstrate that their proposals will cause no additional material harm. (M P Para 10.3)
10.4 The need for much more detailed understanding of what the atmospheric pollution is doing to the Forest is required from BAA if they are to be allowed to expand the use of Stansted Airport. (M P Para 10.4)