About

The Walesby Woods Forest Plan area lies around the villages of Ollerton and Walesby in Nottinghamshire; between the A1 and A614.

The plan replaces and updates the three original plans; Bevercotes, Haughton Warren & Boughton Brake and Wellow, approved in 2002, 2000 and 2003 respectively. By combining these plans we aim to manage these woods collectively as part of a wider landscape. It sets out our management proposals for the next 50 years and facilitates approval for felling and thinning, both conventional and unconventional, for the next 10 years.

Objectives

The main objectives for Walesby Woods Forest Plan are:

Economic

• Maintain a structured programme of timber production through thinning to achieve the maximum sustainable cut whilst focussing on crop improvement.
• Select suitable species and appropriate silvicultural techniques to regenerate commercially productive but more structurally and species diverse and resilient forests.

Environmental

• Make appropriate provision within the Forest Plan for the particular requirements of the SSSI as detailed in the SSSI Management Plan.
• Demonstrate appropriate management to maintain the current extent and ecological value of the non-designated priority habitats.
• Demonstrate how the high conservation value of Wellow and Bevercotes has been recognised and incorporated into the Forest Plan.
• Identify key species and habitats and make appropriate provision for their requirements.

Social

• Diversify species composition and structure, and plan sympathetically designed and appropriately scaled interventions to improve and maintain the visual integration of the forest into the wider landscape.
• Recognise the location and scale of demand in making appropriate provision for public access, where there is open access woodland or public rights of way.

What we’ll do

Planned operations within the 10 year period of the plan are summarised below:

• Felling of 8.1ha of conifers and 19.4ha of broadleaves.
• Restocking of 8.1ha of conifers and 19.4 ha of broadleaves.
• Underplanting of 40ha of conifers.

The species composition will also change from 29.5% conifer, 64.7% broadleaf and 5.7% open & other in 2017 to 22.7% conifer, 71.6% broadleaf and 5.7% open & other in 2067.

All of our forests and woodlands in this Forest District are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council®(FSC®) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). All Forestry England forests and woods are independently certified as sustainably managed, to continue to benefit future generations.