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SITE MANAGEMENT BULLETIN BOARD

Find out the latest from Amphibian and Reptile Conservation

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation is the place to find up-to-the-minute information on latest efforts to help conserve the UK's amphibians and reptiles.

TOWN COMMON UPDATE - 28th Oct 2011

The five year Felling Licence period for Town Common is coming to an end and in the last week of October the ARC  Field Team will be completing the scheduled tree and scrub felling. This involves a small area within Hurn Parish, that was considered too ecologically sensitive for heavy machinery. The work consists mainly of pine scrub removal with some licensable trees. Cut materials will be burnt on site now that the conditions are wet enough to allow this to happen safely. Any arisings not dealt with immediately can be disposed of at a later date, but  licensable felling work will finish this week.

 

 TOWN COMMON UPDATE - 11th March 2011

Contractors are now back on site and, weather permitting, work should be finished during the early part of next week.

 

TOWN COMMON UPDATE - 22nd February 2011

Work has been delayed on site over the past few weeks due to a number of reasons: 

• A small number of complaints were received by the Forestry Commission, who then had to inspect the felling work.  After ascertaining that the work being carried out was not in breach of the licence permission was given to continue.
• Weather conditions have made the use of heavy machinery on site very difficult.  Work has currently halted until conditions dry out enough to allow safe movement of vehicles.

While complaints about our work are not desirable, they are almost inevitable when work of this scale is undertaken.  The site will always look very different initially and to many people this will appear to be damaged beyond repair.  Our experience is that public opinion tends to change when the regeneration of the site becomes visible, with positive comments then replacing the negative.  The perception that too many trees are being removed is also common, and again tends to change over time.  The felling work has to take place during the winter months which means that retained birch trees have no leaves and look scrappy and insignificant, leaving only retained pine visible in the felling area.  The whole look of this area will be different by the summer with trees more obvious and paths and tracks looking far better.

WEATHER PERMITTING WORK WILL RECOMMENCE BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK (25TH FEBRUARY) WITH A PROJECTED FINISH DATE OF 4TH MARCH. 

 

TOWN COMMON UPDATE - 25th January 2011

We have received a number of queries over the first few weeks of the project:

Duration of the work?

Weather has hindered progress so far.  In an attempt to minimise impact on extraction routes it has not been possible to use the large forwarding and chipping machines at all times, due to the heavy rainfall that we have experienced.  We currently estimate that all work will be completed by around 18th February.

Which trees are being left and which removed?

All deciduous trees (oak and birch) are being retained in this area.  The majority of pine in the southern felling block are being removed.  Many of these are close growing dense trees that tend to only have branches on part of the trunk and near the top due to their close-packed nature.  Leaving these trees results in a very artificial straight edge.

Further north there is an area of tree retention as well as an area where selective thinning will take place.  This falls within Hurn Parish, and members of the Parish Council will assist us with 'designing' the final look of the area by deciding which trees to retain.

How will the area look after the work has finished?

Work of this scale can often look quite severe initially.  Over time there will be a succession of changes as vegetation begins to re-establish itself.  Bracken, pine and rhododendron re-growth will be managed to allow heather and other heathland plants to flourish.

Impacts to bridleways, paths and extraction routes will be assessed at the end of the project.  Measures will be taken to ensure that any substantial impacts caused by the works are dealt with appropriately. 

 

ARC work on Town Common

ARC are about to complete the five year programme of work that has been taking place on Town Common. This final piece of work for the eastern side of St. Catherines Hill is due to start early in the New Year, and will involve the felling and removal of approximately 7 hectares of pine trees and rhododendron. In some areas all pine are to be removed, while in others selective thinning will take place. Blocks of tree retention are incorporated into the plan, as set out in the relevant Felling Licence. No burning of arisings will take place, so as to eliminate smoke disturbance, and all timber will be taken down to an area near Dudmoor Lane, where it will be chipped and removed from site. Every effort will be made to prevent undue disturbance.

START DATE FOR THIS WORK IS 4TH January 2011.
Completion date not yet known, but project will take at least one month.
Please check back for updated information.

 

 

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