Newcastle City Council’s planning committee met on Friday to consider the current Woolsington Hall application. Members of Save Newcastle Wildlife attended the meeting and were given time to make the point that since the last planning application circumstances have substantially changed and the balance between environmental protection and preserving heritage assets had been dramatically altered as a result of December's fire. We highlighted that Woolsington Woods is not only a source of great biodiversity but acts as a flood buffer during times of heavy rainfall, as depicted in the photographs that we sent showing the swamp which has turned into a lake in the South Lodge Plantation – the area proposed for residential development. The committee was assured that the enabling development would come back for consideration, either as an altered application or as a new application and that the applicant's financial arrangements would be part of that discussion. Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting and demonstrated the level of public concern for this important wildlife habitat.