NEARLY 250 ancient woods in Scotland are under threat from built development, it was revealed yesterday, as the number at risk across the UK topped 1,000 for the first time since records began.
Figures released by the charity Woodland Trust show it is aware of 1,064 ancient woodlands at risk of damage or destruction – the highest number since it started compiling the data in 1999.
They include 244 woods north of the Border, including three areas of ancient woodland in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, that the Trust warns will be lost should permission be given to go ahead with the controversial Europark development of more than 2,500 new homes between the M8 and Airdrie.
The Trust has seen 506 ancient woods threatened across Scotland since 1999.
Some 173 have suffered loss or damage, while 89 woods have been saved.
George Anderson, of Woodland Trust Scotland, said: "Just as everyone is grasping the importance of creating more woodland to counter the climate emergency, we must not drop the ball on the woods we already have.
"Ancient woods are rare, precious and irreplaceable, yet we are chipping away at them."
Ancient woods are areas of woodland that have persisted on maps since 1600 in England and Wales, and 1750 in Scotland.
They cover just 2.4 per cent of the UK but, relatively undisturbed by human development, are home to unique and complex communities of plants, fungi, insects and other micro-organisms that have developed over centuries.
Of the 1,064 UK woods currently under threat, some 801 are "live planning applications", while the remaining 263 are included in various council site allocation plans – areas outlined for future development such as housing, business use or leisure facilities.
Site allocations are the main threat, f
