from Sunday Herald, 15 January 2006
THE felling of hundreds of trees at one of Scotland’s world famous golf courses has sparked a bitter dispute which threatens to mar the run-up to a major championship next year.
Local residents are complaining that the natural environment at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus is being ruined. This is disputed, however, by the course’s managers, who are promising that more trees will be planted.
Carnoustie, which is regarded as one of the most difficult courses in Scotland, has been chosen to host the international open in 2007. It has been described as “one fantastic golf course” by the 2005 St Andrews open winner, Tiger Woods.
But now it has become embroiled in an unpleasant argument over the way it manages its woodlands and wildlife. Walkers and golfers claim that birds have been forced out because trees and gorse bushes have been cut down.
Protests are being led by 62-year-old Ally Donaldson, a former professional footballer who kept goal for Dundee FC in the 1960s. He now runs a pet and garden centre in Carnoustie, and is a member of one of the town’s golf clubs.
“They are depriving future generations of trees on the golf course,” he told the Sunday Herald. “It makes me despair.”
“If they take away all the trees, it’s going to be a barren wasteland in 20 years’ time and there will be nothing for my children or grandchildren to see.”
Donaldson claimed that more than 300 trees had been cleared in the past 10 years, half of them since 2002. In the last couple of months, there had been a flurry of complaints about the felling of 35 trees behind the 10th green.
He said that large patches of gorse had been removed, depriving yellow hammers, linnets and song thrushes of vital habitats. He also complained that banks of the Barry Burn, which runs through the links, had been concreted.
“The environment is being destroyed. It’s outrageous,” he said. Although Carnoustie’s managers were obliged to replace the trees they had cut down, not one new tree had been planted in the past 10 years, he claimed.
Carnoustie Golf Links, which is managed by a local committee on behalf of Angus Council, was granted a licence in 2004 by the government’s Forestry Commission to fell up to 300 trees. But for every tree that is cut down, the licence requires that nine new trees must be planted before June 2009.
Graeme Duncan, the Links’ general manager, accepted that no trees had yet been planted under the licence, but promised that they soon would be. “Give us a few months and we will demonstrate our replanting policy,” he maintained. “We are just waiting on spring weather.”
Some trees by the railway had to be removed for safety reasons, and others were old or unattractive. The aim of future replanting would be to make the course look more attractive, he said.
“We will certainly abide by the terms and conditions of the licence. There is no doubt about that,” he added. “There is no dislike of trees at Carnoustie.”
The Forestry Commission has suggested that new pine, rowan and birch trees should be planted at Carnoustie. “They are under a legal obligation to replant and they need to do that by June 2009,” confirmed a Commission spokeswoman.
Residents familiar with the links retain their doubts, however. “I cringe with sadness when I see the destruction to the natural habitat on this most beautiful part of Angus,” said Ian Wallace, 53, who walks his dog daily on the course.
“Trees are being needlessly felled and not replaced, heather is being replaced by turf and wildlife is on the decline. The resulting carnage is a disgrace.”
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