About

Basing Wood covers 120 hectares and is located to the immediate North of Basingstoke, near the area of Popley. The woodland has large numbers of conifers, in particular Scots Pine, Corsican Pine and Lawson’s Cypress. There are smaller numbers of broadleaf trees including Oak, Ash and Alder.

The wood is leased to the Forestry Commission from The National Trust and is not formally dedicated for open access under the Country and Rights Way Act (2000), however, the Forestry Commission allows open access for reasonable activities in line with its Bylaws.

Basing Wood contains areas of ancient woodland and covers approximately 120hectares. It lies within Natural England’s Thames Basin Heaths National Character Area and is adjacent to Basingstoke which is to the South. The trees range in age up to 65 years old and the wood supports areas of open space within its main block. The wood also contains 21 areas which are considered to be Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) by Hampshire County Council.

Objectives

The objectives of management here are to:

•Maintain and enhance native species and semi-natural features. Initiate restoration of planted ancient woodland to native and honorary native woodland.

•Take opportunities to increase the nature conservation value of other existing habitats.

•Maintain and, where possible, increase the species and age diversity of the woodland.

•Maintain sustainable access and the provision for recreation within the woodland, taking opportunities to enhance the experience when appropriate.

•To provide a regular supply of quality timber to support the local timber industry.

What we'll do

Approval has been granted for the operations to run from March 2014 until February 2024. During this period 1.6h hectares of Conifer trees will be felled and replaced with Broadleaf trees through either replanting or natural regeneration. 118 hectares will be managed under a Low Impact Silvicultural System (LISS) and 0.4 hectares of permanent open space will be managed.

The species composition will also change from 39% conifer, 38% broadleaf and 23% mixed in 2014 to 24% conifer, 40% broadleaf and 36% mixed in 2024.