Wyre Outliers Forest Plan

The external consultation for the Wyre Outliers Forest Plan was open for five weeks in December 2023 / January 2024. Posters were put up within all four woodlands, directing people to an online survey. In addition, emails were sent specifically to known stakeholder organisations and individuals who we felt have an interest in how the forest is managed.

We had 17 responses to our consultation survey for the Wyre Outliers Forest Plan, and respondents were a combination of NGOs, neighbours, other government departments, 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 (15 responses rating this interest as “very important” or important”), climate change (13 responses rating this interest as “very important” or important”), and forest protection (13 responses rating this interest as “very important” or important”). Communities and people, and recreation and access, were also highly scoring interests.

In answer to the question “How well does the Forest Plan address your needs and interests, or those of your organisation?”, 4 respondents said “very well”, 6 said “well” and 5 said “OK”. No respondents felt the plan “poorly” or “very poorly” addressed their needs and interests.

There were plenty of positive comments about the Forest Plan, which are appreciated:

“It meets my needs and addresses my concerns.”

“the plan meets my needs here and supports the SSSI.”

Forestry England response: Thank you, this is great to hear! We are happy that you feel the new Forest Plan addresses your needs and interests.

“I am delighted that Coppicing will continue and that the pollarded limes are recognised for their uniqueness.”

Forestry England response: Shrawley Wood is one of the largest small-leaved lime coppice woodlands in the country, and a significant proportion of the woodland is designated as a SSSI. Coppicing will continue to be an important and predominant form of management here in this unique woodland into the future.

“We welcome the attention given to the historic environment”

Forestry England response: We appreciate these comments, and we thank Historic England for their advice and involvement during the writing of the Scheduled Monument management plan for Arley Wood Camp.

“The work suggested surrounding the Kinver seed orchard on the Highgate Common SSSI is a positive move in opening up the area, and restoring heathland where it once was. FE and SWT will work closely together to ensure this plan improves the biodiversity of the site whilst maintaining a working seed orchard.”

Forestry England response: We appreciate the feedback on our proposals for Kinver at Highgate Common, and we look forward to working alongside Staffordshire Wildlife Trust at Kinver throughout this Forest Plan period.

Some people also expressed concerns about particular aspects of the plan, such as deer control:

“What is the plan with regards to deer control as with all deer species in the UK on the increase if there are high numbers of deer in the area, natural regeneration will be affected”

“If you cannot complete a deer fence around the FC part of Shrawley Wood, please intensify appropriate and sustainable deer management”

“The muntjac are becoming a problem too. They are multiplying and consequently moving out into the surrounding area”

Forestry England’s response: The Wildlife Ranger and other members of the Wyre beat team monitor the impact of deer damage at Shrawley Wood by carrying out deer impact surveys. Deer control isn’t carried out as standard practice at Shrawley, but in instances where deer impact surveys show that damage caused by deer browsing has increased and has become detrimental to woodland regeneration or ground flora growth, then the beat team will implement deer control.

And also parking:

“For Shrawley Wood there is no adequate parking provided leading to illicit parking in dangerous places.”

“Public access to the woods (at Shrawley) is a huge problem. Anyone who cannot walk to the wood but has to drive will  have a real problem. Where to park?”

Forestry England’s response: We appreciate that visiting Shrawley Wood by car is challenging due to a lack of parking. Any instances of visitors leaving their cars parked in unsafe or impractical locations that result in compromised safety or inconvenience are unacceptable. Unfortunately, the creation of a parking area at Shrawley is outside the scope of this plan. In order to create an area for parking, an area of ancient small-leaved lime woodland would need to be felled. In addition, our right of access into Shrawley is for forestry work only and does not permit public vehicle access.