It’s all because of HS2.
Travelling along Watery Lane then Wood End Lane toward Fradley shows the devastation caused by the removal of hundreds of mature trees and ancient woodland to make way for the passage of the HS2 railway line. In an attempt to mitigate the damage to the countryside, lots of saplings have been planted near to the devastation, but could take hundreds of years to replace what has been lost.
Work started on this section (Phase 1) of the HS2 developement in April 2020, during the lockdown due to COVID-19.
Some of the Plans for HS2 in the area close to Lichfield are enclosed:
General Route
Fradley
Fradley
StreetHay
Key
Further details about the HS2 development can be found on the UK Government website at
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/high-speed-two-limited
and from the HS2 website at