Green light for new birch trees at Brännastrand

Conditions for removing the birch trees

1. A new row of at least five birch trees must be planted in the nearby area. The final criteria for the trees, their placement, and the design of the row must be approved by the County Administrative Board.
   
   
2. The action must be carried out no later than five years after the current trees have been removed, or later if the County Administrative Board decides so.

Background

A new hotel is planned next to the existing business M/S Bränna in Boden. The current planning area is about 4.7 hectares and is located along the eastern and southern shores of Bodträsket. The plan also includes the land around the existing building to allow for reconstruction, as long as the building area is not increased.

To move forward with the hotel project, five birch trees must be cut down. This required an exemption from the general biotope protection. The County Administrative Board initially rejected the municipality’s application, but Boden Municipality appealed to the Land and Environment Court.

Nature conservation consultants from Sweco visited the site to assess whether there were any valuable natural structures related to the trees that would increase their ecological value. They evaluated the trees’ age, height, and diameter, the presence of species including red-listed species, their value for birds and bats (such as hollow trees and feeding traces from woodpeckers), the location of the row, and the overall natural value.

The conclusion was that the row of birch trees does not represent habitats, species, or structures of significant natural value. Therefore, the conditions for granting an exemption from the biotope protection were met.

In addition, the lifting of the shoreline protection for the affected area was required for the hotel plans to proceed. The County Administrative Board’s decision to lift the protection remains in force after the government decided not to review the appeal.

Next step

“This means that we can now send the detailed plan out for a new review. The hope is that we can begin the review stage as soon as possible,” says Sofia Bergvall, planning architect at Boden Municipality.