WOODLAND dating back thousands of years would be wiped out if the Dibden Bay terminal is built, and compensation schemes could only patch up the damage.

That was the claim by Hampshire county council ecologist Jeff Edwards. He warned that not just rare coastal wildlife habitats were at risk from the planned £750m container terminal.

"The development would be the single most damaging impact to ancient woodland in Hampshire in the last ten years," he said. This is one of the most important counties for ancient woodland, and 50 per cent has been lost over the last 70 years. We have a special responsibility to conserve what remains.

"Ancient woodland cannot be created or moved. Any attempt would produce only a very poor representation of the original - surviving fragments of primeval forest which developed at the end of the Ice Age 8,000 years ago."

Mr Edwards said woods in the Dibden Bay area supported "significant populations" of "red or amber alert" protected bird species, as well as dormice and three species of bat.

ABP have proposed moving and replanting woodland shrubs and plants, putting up nesting boxes, adding fencing to reduce noise disturbance, and even saving a tree stump to preserve its colony of rare lichen.

As well as the proposed terminal the development would involve:

Dredging in Southampton Water.

Construction of a rail and road link from the terminal.

Alterations to the A326.

Creation of a tidal creek and a new nature conservation area.

Deposition of dredged material on inter-tidal land between Hythe and Cadland creek ( known as the recharge).

Mr Edwards included Marchwood and Dibden's meadows, marshes, woodland and even roadside verges in his weighty report into the scheme, which affects ten protected areas - including the proposed New Forest National Park.

"The loss of grassland used as back-up grazing may have adverse consequences for the long term viability of the commoning economy of the New Forest," he said.