Member Article

Initiative gives landowners incentive to boost timber supply

The Forestry Commission have unveiled a new initiative to revitalise many woods in the North East, and help the development of green energy.

A grant scheme will make it easier for landowners to harvest timber for woodfuel by improving access in their woods for felling equipment.

It is a response to the concerns of forest chiefs, who say that 50% of privately owned woods in the region are under-managed.

Extracting timber, especially in remote woods where roadways can be poor or non-existent, often carries high costs.

The new support will make harvesting economically attractive, by widening gateways, building access roads and helping with marketing timber.

Ian Everard from the Forestry Commission said: “The woodfuel market is booming, driven by the high cost of fossil fuels and the Government’s renewable heating incentives.

“To meet this demand we need to act to improve timber supply within the region. In many ways woodlands are our biggest untapped resource and good husbandry will also enhance wildlife habitats.”

The Forestry Commission produces 440,000 tonnes of timber in the North East, which represents 25% of all the timber grown in England.

Opportunity to expand woodfuel supply lies in the private sector’s 50,000 hectares (125,000 acres) of woodland.

Pam Warhurst, Forestry Commission Chair said: “There is an old phrase that says ‘A wood that pays is a wood that stays.’

“We are delighted to be able to launch this new scheme to revitalise the economic viability of sustainable woodland management by helping get timber to market. It will create rural jobs and help grow the green economy.”

One landowner who could benefit from the grant is Nick Ridley, who farms the Park End Estate, near Hexham for over two centuries.

Tapping into the expanding woodfuel market to finance the restoration of 12 hectares of ancient woodland on his land, which was replanted with conifers decades ago.

Using a Forestry Commission grant, nearly 2,000 tonnes of timber has been felled, the vast majority of which will be chipped and used in woodfuel boilers on Nick’s estate and in the surrounding area.

Nick said: ““We have done the major felling and we’ll aim to start replanting with native trees this spring.

“The rise in timber prices due to demand for woodfuel has made this whole operation viable. Our plan is to use other woods on the estate to carry on supplying woodfuel on a sustainable basis into the future.”

Four years ago a survey revealed that over 80% of Northumberland’s ancient woods were in a poor condition, and Forestry Commission grants combined with an uplift in timber prices has made restoration of these areas viable for private owners.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .