About the Wyre Outliers area

The Wyre Outliers Forest Plan area consists of four separate woodlands, all located within a 9-mile radius of the town of Kidderminster. The woodlands are Kinver, Shatterford, Birchen Park and Shrawley, and they are divided between three counties: Shropshire (Birchen Park), Staffordshire (Kinver) and Worcestershire (Shatterford and Shrawley). The woodlands are in close proximity to the Wyre Forest main block, which is a large and predominately Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland of national significance, being the largest woodland National Nature Reserve (NNR) in the country.

To the east lies the major urban hub of Birmingham, and to the west the Shropshire Hills. Covering a total area of 260.9ha, the Wyre Outlier woodlands are a mix of broadleaf and conifer species, and the majority of the plan area is either classed as Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland, or Plantation on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS).

The Wyre Outliers are made up of 55% broadleaves, with the most abundant broadleaf species by area being small-leaved lime which covers an extensive portion of Shrawley, one of the largest small-leaved lime coppice woodlands in England. Conifers make up 39% of the Wyre Outliers, with Norway spruce and Douglas fir being the most abundant conifer species.

The woodlands within this Forest Plan area provide a valuable natural space for the public to enjoy, despite lacking formal recreation facilities. 

Objectives of the Wyre Outliers Forest Plan

• Protect and enhance areas of Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland and restore areas of PAWS (Plantation on Ancient Woodland Sites).
• Protect and enhance trees of special interest (TSIs) including veteran trees, and recruitment of future generations of both.
• Protect and enhance woodland and open habitats and their associated species.
• Deliver woodlands with social amenity value.
• Conserve, maintain and enhance cultural and heritage assets.
• Deliver well-designed forests that both protect and enhance the internal and external landscape, in keeping with the local landscape character.
•  Continue the production of sustainable and marketable woodland products.

What we'll do

A large proportion of the Wyre Outliers Forest Plan area will be managed under low impact silvicultural systems (LISS). These include selection systems (where groups or individual trees are selected for removal, to allow light and space for natural regeneration or planting), and shelterwood systems (where remaining overstorey trees provide shelter and a seed source to facilitate the next generation of trees). 

At Shrawley, one of the largest small-leaved lime coppice woodlands in England, coppicing will continue to be one of the primary forms of management, with small coppice coupes managed on a rotational system. A number of clearfells will be carried out across the Forest Plan area, either for the purpose of producing sustainable timber in secondary woodland areas, or to aid the restoration of PAWS areas to native broadleaf cover. 

In addition to these operations, ongoing thinning of both conifers and broadleaves will be carried out at five to ten year intervals.

A new Scheduled Monument Management Plan will be implemented alongside this Forest Plan, to guide the ongoing management and enhancement of Arley Wood Camp, an Iron-aged hillfort and enclosure located within Shatterford Wood.