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19
Jul 2024
Forestry England aims to plant 80,000 trees near Harrogate by March
A new woodland near Harrogate is set to be planted by next spring.
The Forestry Commission, a government-owned public body, announced plans to create a 35-hectare forest at Haverah Park, near Beckwithshaw, in April.
80,000 trees will be planted at the Forestry England-run site, which is an agency of the Forestry Commission.
The body last night held a public consultationin on the plans, at Beckwithshaw Village Hall, to receive feedback from local people.
A Forestry Commission spokesperson told the Stray Ferret at the event:
The purpose of the event is really to ascertain what people want the woodland to look like, give their opinions and hear what trees they would like to be planted there.
Part of the plans.
The spokesperson also said the body aims to complete planting at the site by March 2025.
It expects to plant broadleaves, including silver birch and sessile oak, as well as Norway spruce and Scots pine.
Shrubs such as hazel, wild cherry, hawthorn and crab apple could also be planted at the site.
Haverah Park forest, which will sit near Forestry England’s Stainburn Forest, is part of a wider commitment to plant 30,000 hectares of new woodland in England by 2025.
It comes in a bid to create more timber, a spokesperson told the Stray Ferret, adding around 80% of the country’s timber is imported.
They added:
North Yorkshire is really under-wooded. The Yorkshire Dales National Park is actually the least-forested national park in the country.
The site.
As part of the project, which is funded entirely by the nature for climate fund, sections of the forest will be felled in 25 years.
The spokesperson said this will be done “little by little” – as the species will all grow at different rates – but once the timber has been collected, the felled areas will be replanted again:
We’ll use low-intervention methods, meaning the whole site will never be cut down all at once. It’s just due to the different rates at which the species will grow and they’ll be planted again immediately after.
It’ll be a minimum of 25 years until the first set will be cut down.
They added the Forestry Commission is not trying to “attract people from far and wide” with the new forest, but instead to establish a “nice place for locals” and an opportunity to produce necessary timber.
The body also hopes the project will create new wildlife habitats, reduce soil erosion, capture carbon, improve air quality and reduce nearby flood risks.
‘Rather woodland than housing’
The Stray Ferret asked a spokesperson how the public had responded to the plans at last night's event. They said:
Most people seem positive about it. There’s questions and we have to take into account everyone’s opinions. Someone might want more trees planted, another might want more open space. It’s about listening and coming up with a design that balances opinions.
I think people have in their minds they would rather a woodland than housing at the site.
The Forestry Commission bought the land, which was previously used for agriculture, for an undisclosed sum.
The Stray Ferret approached the body to ask how much the land purchase cost, as well as the total cost of the project, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Forestry England is currently in the process of completing ecological surveys, but a spokesperson said the project is “definitely going ahead” subject to regulatory approvals.
The plans and an online feedback form are available to view here.
You can have your say on the project until July 28.
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