Next week, on 16 December, we celebrate 65 years of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.  They are certainly not ready for retirement, there are so many good things happening there.  But it is sad to report that our finest landscapes are still under immense threat.

Less than two weeks ago, the government launched its Roads Investment Strategy which includes several schemes affecting national parks, in particular the Broads, Peak District and South Downs.  As the excellent Campaign for National Parks (CNP) has pointed out, this is contrary to government policy on road building in national parks.

The UK Government Vision and Circular for National Parks and the Broads 2010 states:

There is a strong presumption against any significant road widening or the building of new roads through a Park, unless it can be shown there are compelling reasons for new or enhanced capacity and…

The Plane Tree would find little competition if we were to choose a tree for Europe – a tree which helps define a common heritage and culture for the majority of European citizens. It is also a tree whose current threatened circumstances are the result of the Second World War, a reminder in these days when we can so easily forget the circumstances of war, that it continues to affect our landscapes and therefore us.

Its presence in our urban environment allow Plane’s to be the most readily recognisable tree to the majority, this also means it is a tree that few celebrate – it is common. And indeed WWI soldiers would surely have associated the landscape of the Plane lined roads of Northern Europe with the awfulness of the war itself.

It remains a tree that evokes so many memories for so many Europeans. Its dominance as a ‘landscaping’