Debate contribution: Tree Protection Bill: Second Stage
Debate contribution by Mr Peter McReynolds on .
- MLA
- Mr Peter McReynolds
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 21 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Tree Protection Bill: Second Stage
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5742568
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The Member makes a valid point. It is one that I discussed with DFI officials, who are in the Chamber today. I initially tried to go along with what is done in England, where the buffer zone is 50 metres, but we realised that there were issues with that, so we scaled it back to 15 metres. We need to remember that less than 1% of woodland across Northern Ireland is ancient woodland, so I genuinely cannot imagine ancient woodland or ancient trees getting in the way of the development of housing, which, as we all know, is so important for our constituents across Northern Ireland.
106 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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