After months awaiting a final decision on the fate of Woolsington Woods, the Secretary of State has backed Newcastle City Council’s decision to allow for the destruction of acres of mature woodland to make way for unnecessary millionaire homes in the green belt. He will NOT exercise his call-in powers to halt this inappropriate development. The National Planning Casework Unit issued the final decision notice to all third party representations this morning stating that ‘the Government remains committed to giving more power to councils and communities to make their own decisions on planning issues, and believe that planning decisions should be made at the local level wherever possible.’ Greg Clark MP has ignored 10,219 voices in granting this application, sending a clear message that there is NO commitment to empower communities to make decisions on planning issues. This is a sad, sad day for a city with a proven disregard for the green belt and for the myriad of wildlife that has relied on the woodland habitat for the last few hundred years. Thousands of trees will be lost as another wildlife corridor will vanish. Ironically, the Woolsington Woods campaign has just featured in the BBC Wildlife Magazine, where the threat to the last urban colonies of red squirrels is acknowledged. This shameful decision, on a local and national level, has not only set a dangerous precedent for development in the green belt but has given neglectful owners of listed properties carte blanche to exploit the planning system for their own financial gain.