Petition · past parliament

Give all Ancient Woodland statutory legal protection.

Closed 4,633 signatures

What the petition asks

Ancient Woodland is a nationally important wildlife habitat in its own right, acting as a natural flood defence air filter and carbon store, while providing homes for species that depend on it for survival. Once it's gone it's gone, legal protection should be brought in line with SSSIs as a minimum.
With 13% of the UK's landmass covered in woodland, compared to the EU average of around 35% we are significantly lagging behind our European counterparts. We must protect our ancient woodlands as part of a program of woodland expansion that will help us to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and slow the progress of rainwater, reducing flooding downstream. Expanding will help reverse the decline of woodland species as highlighted by the UK State of Nature Report 2016.

Timeline

4 Jan 2018 Petition opened for signatures
4 Jul 2018 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 4,633
Status Closed
Opened 4 Jan 2018
Closed 4 Jul 2018

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.