Local hospice react after memorial woodland cleared by HS2
Rennie Grove were aware of the construction and wrote to families who had planted trees
Last updated 20th Nov 2020
A memorial wood in Wendover was cleared by HS2.
Rennie Grove Hospice Care (then Iain Rennie Hospice at Home) was gifted the use of a piece of land on the outskirts of Wendover 10 years ago.
It was used to create a Memorial Garden where families could plant a tree in memory of a loved one.
HS2 have possession of that land as part of their construction work nearby, and needed to cut down a section of the memorial wood in order to continue their work.
Earlier this week a family visited the woodland and discovered their tree had been cut down, and the memorial stone was missing.
A spokesperson for HS2 has said:
"In order to build Wendover's green tunnel, which will reduce noise and disruption for the surrounding community, we unfortunately need to clear a section of woodland planted 10 years ago by the Rennie Grove Hospice, which is now based in Tring.
"We informed the Hospice and the landowner a month in advance, providing them with time to notify the families and friends of the deceased who may have wanted to remove any fixed items before work started."
Tracey Hancock, Director of Fundraising has provided this statement:
The agreed route for HS2 will run nearby and in order to construct this section, known as the Wendover Green Tunnel, HS2 has taken possession of the land on which the Memorial Woodland is located for a period of five years to create access to the construction site. This has resulted in a number of the trees in one section of the Memorial Woodland being cut down.
Rennie Grove Hospice Care and the landowner have been in negotiations with HS2 for over a year trying to secure the best possible outcome for the woodland and for the families whose loved ones are remembered there. These negotiations have yet to reach a conclusion, and are still ongoing, but the charity remains hopeful that an agreement will be reached for HS2 to provide financial compensation to restore the woodland to its former state at the end of the five year period.
Rennie Grove Hospice Care and the landowner were given a month's notice of HS2's intention to take possession of the land on 20 October 2020. Rennie Grove wrote to every family recorded as having a tree in the woodland to let them know that the area would be out of bounds after this date. The charity has since become aware of one family who did not receive their letter and who subsequently visited the woodland to find the tree planted in memory of their daughter and a memorial stone they had also placed by it were no longer there.
Rennie Grove fully appreciates how upsetting this situation is and has spoken to the family concerned to reassure them that it is doing all it can to reach a satisfactory conclusion to restore the woodland once construction has been completed. It continues to work tirelessly on behalf of all the families who have trees in the Woodland to secure the restoration of the area for them, their loved ones and the local community to use as a place of remembrance and reflection."
The memorial stone for the family remains missing though, with HS2 reporting they were not aware of any objects present at the time work occured.