It was the not-at-all-missed Owen Paterson who I believe first suggested Ancient Woodland could be developed on (by projects such as HS2) as long as the developer 'planted new trees somewhere else' to make up for it, hence demonstrating a complete misunderstanding of one of the most precious remaining bits of British ecology, and his utter ineptitude to be 'Secretary of State for the Environment'. A bit like putting Dracula in charge of the blood transfusion service.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/10550482/Ancient-woodland-could-be-bulldozed-for-housing-suggests-Owen-Paterson.html