Forestry Commission Consultation Hub

For feedback on our proposed management plan for Giggle Alley Woodland, and the associated aspirations of management for the Japanese Garden. 

Appreciated the chance to engage, and raised issues regarding the Japanese Garden level of investment required, and appropriate utilisation of the volunteering potential in the wider community

We will be attending the Parish Council meeting on the 11th March, and will be looking to fund the Japanese Garden restoration as a standalone project if appropriate.

The external consultation for the West Woods & Collingbourne Forest Plan was open for five weeks between late August and early October 2024. Posters were displayed within both woodlands, directing people to an online survey. In addition, emails were sent directly to known stakeholder organisations and individuals who we felt have an interest in how the forest is managed.

We had 44 responses to our online consultation survey for the West Woods & Collingbourne Forest Plan, and respondents were a combination of NGOs, neighbours, parish councils, community groups and forest users/members of the public.

When asked to score a range of interests in terms of their importance, the highest rated interests were “biodiversity & woodland ecology”, “communities & people”, “climate change”, “forest protection” and “recreation and access”, with the majority of respondents saying these interests were “very important” to them.

In answer to the question “How well does the Forest Plan address your needs and interests, or those of your organisation?”, 64% of respondents said “very well” or “well”, and 27% said “OK”. 7% of respondents felt that the Forest Plan addressed their needs and interests “poorly”, and 2% didn’t answer the question.

There were plenty of positive comments about the Forest Plan, which are appreciated and very rewarding to receive:

“Very interesting to see a plan of the different trees and a long-term strategy to manage the woods effectively - thank you.”

“I am excited about your thinning interventions to encourage natural regeneration.”

“This is an excellent document and I feel confident our woods are in good hands.”

“I fully endorse the plans to restore West Woods and Collingbourne Woods to Ancient Woodland.”

“Good recognition of biodiversity and heritage features.”

“Very much welcome other aspects of the plan to diversify natural woodland and support wildlife and biodiversity, and support better management of heritage features.”

• A number of respondents expressed strong concern over the illegal use of motorbikes and off-road vehicles within the woods:

e.g. “I would ask that there is more policing of the woods by Forestry Commission staff to stop motorbikes entering. It is becoming a daily intrusion and is not only noisy but threatens walkers/dog walkers/wildlife. Signs alone have not worked.”

Forestry England’s response: We take illegal activity very seriously, and encourage residents to report all incidents to the police and to Forestry England with as much information as possible. The local Forestry England team looks after 3500 hectares of woodland and isn’t resourced to police the forests against incursions. But we record all incident reports in order to understand recurring patterns of behaviour. Maintaining access for legitimate forest users whilst preventing abuse by motorised vehicles is an ongoing challenge.

• Two respondents felt that deer numbers have increased in the woods, and asked about our approach to deer management:

e.g. “There appears to be an increasing number of deer in West Woods which stray regularly beyond the woods into local residents’ gardens. Does Forestry England have a plan for controlling deer populations?”

Forestry England’s response: Active deer management is carried out in West Woods via a Deer Control Licence managed by Forestry England. Deer live wild and pass freely through the landscape wherever they want, not adhering to land boundaries. They aren’t confined to one particular habitat, and the number occupying a particular woodland at any given time is unlikely to remain consistent.

• Several respondents had concerns for the bluebells and wild daffodils present in the woods, expressing fear over a potential reduction in these wildflowers as a result of our planned forestry activities:

e.g. “Bluebell density must be conserved throughout all of West Woods, not just the protected area near the eastern car park.”

Forestry England’s response: Wild flowers, in particular bluebells, are a significant ecological feature of these woodlands and also a greatly loved feature  for visitors. Proposals within the new Forest Plan have been carefully considered to balance the need to diversify the woodland structure, and to preserve the bluebells. While the area on the eastern side of West Woods near to the Clatford car park has been identified as an area of particular bluebell abundance, this does not mean that bluebells elsewhere in the woodlands will be disregarded when felling operations are planned. Whilst preserving ecological features is a high priority, it is important to maintain a holistic view of the woodlands. If we do not carry out felling in an attempt to protect wildflowers, these woodlands would continue to have a very uniform canopy, with very little diversity – including woodland flora - and a lack of resilience and provision for healthy trees in the future.

• Several respondents expressed concern over our intention to investigate the potential for a grazing scheme to be put in place at Hursley Bottom in West Woods, for the purpose of habitat enhancement:

e.g. “I would be concerned about grazing, especially if it involved cattle, and think that it needs very clear information for walkers, so that they can avoid areas where cattle are grazing.”

Forestry England’s response: At this stage, the idea of introducing a conservation grazing scheme at Hursley Bottom is in the early stages of development and is only one of several possibilities being considered to manage this area effectively for wildlife benefit. If grazing was to be progressed, maintaining public access throughout the grazed area would be a key objective. Any proposals would be thoroughly assessed and discussed within Forestry England, and we would seek advice from other organisations who are successfully managing conservation grazing initiatives in publicly used areas.

• A small number of respondents didn’t agree with our proposals to embrace natural regeneration as a method of restocking areas following felling:

e.g. “The reliance on natural regeneration ensures that saplings of today will not yield any timber in the future.”

Forestry England’s response: Following any group felling or clearfelling operations, no immediate planting will take place, and instead we will monitor the abundance and species of natural regeneration, reviewing at 5 years post felling and 10 years post felling against stocking densities required by the UK Woodland Assurance Standard. At this point, if little regeneration has occurred, or it is of undesirable species or lacking in species diversity, then supplementary planting will be considered. Any planting will be carefully planned to achieve a desired species mix that is suited to expected future climatic conditions. There are many advantages to embracing natural regeneration. The resulting trees are likely to be very well adapted to local site conditions, including soil type, and are likely to be hardier to local climatic conditions and stressors. The process of natural regeneration allows for natural selection of the best adapted trees to occur. The species mixes and habitats created by regeneration are often more natural, and better able to support wildlife communities within the woodland. It is also beneficial to avoid needing to import saplings from abroad to plant, to reduce the risk of introducing pests and diseases to our woodlands.

• Some respondents thought that increasing visitor facilities at the woods would be beneficial, however others want infrastructure to remain minimal, to maintain the quiet feel of the woods:

e.g. “Picnic areas would be welcomed, as well as a toilet, as similar to Savernake woods.”

Forestry England’s response: While Forestry England is committed to removing barriers and widening access to the nation’s forests, visitor facilities must be appropriate to the woodland and we need the resources to manage them. At the current time, there are no plans to develop further visitor facilities at either West Woods or Collingbourne Wood. These largely ancient woodlands are valued for their tranquillity and naturalness, and we are keen to maintain the relaxed simplicity which visitors seek.

A full consultation record covering all of the topics that were frequently raised in the online survey will be available to view in the finalised Forest Plan once it has been published on our website.

The external consultation for Mildenhall was open for 30 days from 7th June 2024 - 6th July 2024. The public were directed to an online consultation via posters erected across the woodland at key entrance points and gateways, letters sent to residents and social media posts. A hard copy of the plan was also made available for viewing at the Santon downham office. We directly emailed 24 stakeholders including parish councils to inform them of the consultation.

The consultation also provided contact details for further queries to be made.  

There were 12 responses to the consultation with 8 of those being through the online questionaire. Overall, the plan was met favorably, with 63% of online respondents classing it as well or very well addressing their needs. The majority Of respondents also agreed the plan acheived an appropriate balance of social, economic and environmental objectives for the woodland. The primary interests of respondants focused on biodiversity & woodland ecology, recreation and access and climate change. 

The key concerns raised include the following:

• MOD felt greater consideration was required for managing safeguarding issues for RAF Mildenhall in regard to tree height controls for the glideslope area. 
• Friends of Thetford Forest requested a correction to the wording regarding the open days held for Rex Graham and Warren Lodge. 
• Archaeological concerns from an external stakeholder regarding below ground disturbance from any operations.
• Request to encourage the use of methods that promote infiltration of precipitation to ground, improving rates of aquifer recharge. Suggestions made for this included: increasing clearings/glade area, fire break width and planting more broadleaf species. 
• Further explanation wanted over what anti social behaviour was present. 
• Lack of recreation facilities. Public would like to see similar facilities to those at High Lodge including litter and dog poo bins. 

The response have been considered and factored into the plan where possible. The key concerns raised above have been addressed in the following way:

• A meeting was held with the MOD, our estates department and forest planner to address the exact issues around tree height management. A survey was carried out of the tree heights within the glideslope area during the development of the plan and a clear fell coupe was added to address some that exceeded this. The plan does also show the glideslope area will remain with surrounding broadleaf woodland to be coppiced to keep tree heights low. The MOD felt the full glideslope area was not clear in the plan so it was agreed an extra map would be included in the appendix of the plan and further text added to page 14 to acknowledge the agreement between the MOD and FE to manage trees within the glideslope area. 
• The plan was corrected with the updated text from the Friends of Thetford Forest.
• An operational site assessment (OSA) is carried out before operations begin and our heritage advisor is consulted during this stage to highlight any particular issues. The designation of the forest as SSSI/SPA means ground nesting habitat is required and created through felling operations so it is not practical to simply say no operations can take place due to a possibility something may be uncovered. The comments made were passed to the heritage advisor to consider whether any changes were required to the plan as a result of these and to consider during the OSA process.  
• The incopration of the open habitat plan across Thetford Forest which includes Mildenhall will increase the width of the forest roads and rides, as well as some larger clearings to encourage SSSI species. It is unlikely we would plant broadleaf species as the woodland already has a large percentage spread across the plan area but existing species will act as a good seed source to naturally regenerate into any gaps to further diversify the forest. 
• A response was sent to the member of public who requested this to explain we encourage visitors to follow the forest code and byelaws when visting and included a link to these. Any activity that does not follow these is considered anti social behaviour and a list of those present in Mildenhall was provided as well as more detail on how we know this to be the case e.g. reports from members of the public or emergency services. No further response was recieved. 
• High Lodge is a forest centre of which the car parking charges play a fundamental role in providing and maintaining the facilities there. It would not be possible to install these at Mildenhall for free. The play facilities that were previously in place were managed by the council but later removed due resource issues with maintenance. The recreation team are reviewing what is provided at external sites but any developments will depend on funds available. Thetford Forest now operates a bin free policy in line with Forestry England's policy to create less waste and provides an opportunity to redeploy resources from managing other peoples litter to investing in expanding peoples experiences of accesing green space. Visitors are expected to manage their own litter and to take it home with them.  

This plan has now been approved by Forest Services, the regulatory arm of the Forestry Commission and can be viewed on our Forestry England Forest Management Plans webpage.