Our Forests Need Protecting

The forest at Rackerhayes is not just any patch of trees. It is the last large woodland for miles around, covering an area the size of 60 football pitches, filled with towering oaks and native broadleaf trees. These trees have grown for decades, forming a mature ecosystem that supports the community, the climate, and wildlife alike.

If Sibelco’s expansion is allowed, this irreplaceable forest will be felled – another casualty in a long line of broken promises.

Why These Trees Matter

• Clean air & oxygen: Forests filter pollution and provide the oxygen we breathe.

• Climate resilience: Mature trees store vast amounts of carbon, vital in the fight against climate change.

• Flood prevention: Their deep roots act like sponges, soaking up stormwater and slowing runoff. Remove them, and homes downstream are left exposed to floods.

• Cooling & wellbeing: Trees naturally cool towns in heatwaves and provide green space for people to walk, play, and heal.

Replacing this forest with saplings, bunds, or promises of “future restoration” cannot replicate what is lost. A 70-year-old oak cannot be replaced by planting a two-year-old sapling and calling it compensation.

Broken Promises, Again

When the B3193 road was diverted in 2013, two copses of mature woodland were destroyed on the promise of 50 years of jobs and resources. Now, just 12 years later, Sibelco is back demanding even more forest. Those trees were sacrificed for a lie – collateral damage to an offshore company’s profit line.

Policy Levers

• Teignbridge Local Plan (Policies EN2A, EN12): Requires protection and enhancement of woodlands and hedgerows. Wholesale clearance of broadleaf stands directly breaches these policies.

• Devon Minerals Plan (Policy M6): Demands biodiversity net gain and no net loss of green infrastructure across the Bovey Basin. Destroying the last large forest patch makes these targets impossible to achieve.

• Environment Act 2021: Sets legally binding targets for habitat restoration and biodiversity recovery. Approving this deforestation would undermine those commitments.

Campaign Wins Within Reach

• Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs): Immediate legal protection for the most valuable stands could block or delay clearance.

• 110% Biodiversity Net Gain requirement: Forces Sibelco to prove not just replacement, but a net increase in habitat. For a mature oak forest, that is virtually impossible.

• Media spotlight: “Belgian-owned company destroys Devon’s last woodland” is a powerful story that resonates far beyond Kingsteignton.

The Bottom Line

This forest is the last of its kind in the area. It cannot be replaced in our lifetime. The law, policy, and community are on our side. We must not let Sibelco destroy 60 football pitches of woodland for profit.