A Lack of Maturity

The news that the UK Environmental Secretary is prepared to allow ancient woodlands to be hacked down to provide building plots for housing, so long as 100 trees are planted by the developers in other offset areas is a bit disengenuous (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25599249 ). Are we talking about social or high-end housing? What species of trees would be used? Where would the offsets be planted? What would happen to the animal and fungal species in the destroyed area? The point is simply that you would not (even with the passage of considerable time) be replacing like with like. There is so little ancient woodland in this country that I think he needs to think a little more carefully.