APPENDIX 7 - WOODLAND MANAGEMENT PLAN

Hillside Cottage
Woodland Management Plan
2024-20229

Woodland Management Plan 

INTRODUCTION
The aims and management approach guide the management of the woodland and its development. These determine basic management policies and methods which apply to the site, such as the retention of old trees and dead wood and a desire for management to be as unobtrusive as possible. 

The  management plan is based on the identification of Key Features for the site and setting objectives for their management. A monitoring programme (not included in this plan) ensures that these objectives are met and any necessary management works are carried out. Any legally confidential or sensitive species information about this site is not included in this version of the plan.

PLAN REVIEW AND UPDATING
The information presented in this Management plan is held in a database which is continuously being amended and updated by the agents.  Consequently this printed version may quickly become out of date, particularly in relation to the planned work programme and on-going monitoring observations.

The agents are Aspinalls Planning + Legal (info@aspinalls-uk.com) can confirm details of the current management programme. There is a formal review of this plan every 5 years and a summary of monitoring results can be obtained on request.

Hillside
WOODLAND MANAGEMENT APPROACH
The management of the woods is based on ecological diversity and landscape enhancement, which is focused on improving woodland biodiversity and increasing people's understanding and enjoyment of woodland.

Ther strategic aims are to:

1. To managee to maintain the intrinsic key features of value and to reflect those of the 
surrounding landscape. Itervene in order to maintain and improve biodiversity and to further the development of more resilient woods and landscape.

2. Establish new native woodland using tree planting and provide opportunities for early intregration with the remainder of Factory Wood, which is generally mature and of a single age structure.

3. Encouragement, by example, best practice in woodland management  for landscape enhancement and biodiversity

4. Work with neighbours, organisations and other stakeholders in developing the management of the woods and, where appropriate, allow the woods to be used to support local woodland, conservation and education initiatives.

5. Any activities in the woodland will conform to sustainable forest management principles, be appropriate for the site and will be balanced with our primary objectives of enhancing the biodiversity and the wider landscapes.

Structural complexityIn addition to the guidelines above the applicants will adoptedwe have specific guidance and policies on issues of woodland management which will be reviewed and updated from time to time. It is recognised that all woods are different and that the management of Hillside should also reflect the local landscape and where appropriate support local projects and initiatives. Guidelines like hese will provide a necessary overarching framework to guide the management of the site but such management also requires decisions based on local circumstances and an intimate knowledge of the site.

Hillside
1.0 SITE DETAILS
Site name: Hillside Cottage
Location: Leckwith, Cardiff
Grid reference: SK830952, OS 1:50,000 Sheet No. 112
Designations: SINC etc

2.0 SITE DESCRIPTION
2.1 Summary Description
Hillside forms part of Factory Woods, Leckwith that extends on the NE slopes overlooking the Cardiff basin. The site has been cleared of diseased Ash trees and much of the scrub vegetation has been destroyed by extensive flooding originating from the public highway.

3.0 LONG TERM POLICY
Maintaining the woodland in perpetuity without consistent and significant intervention is not a viable option. The replanted woodland will be have adverse species and age class. Parts of the wood, which were formerly ash-dominated, will be composed of appropriate native broadleaves, with oak and beech comprising the climax species.

Species Mix.
Area A will be planted as in accordance with the proposed matrix contained in Appendix 6 and maintained with minimal intervention, allowing natural processes to shape it. The trees will be planted on the tip slopes, ensuring that the pioneer species establish to provide sufficient protection for the climax species.

Area B will follow the proposed planting matrix ALSO CONTAINED in Appendix 6

The edge species will be managed annually by means of heavy pruning and coppicing. and in 5 year cycles, thinning around the climax species should occur in order to allow the development of the climax species.

Short term management objectives for the plan period (5 years):   
During this plan period the short term objective is to carry out management to diversify the tree species range and age class, and to maintain open woodland conditions along important parts of the site. This will be done by selective thinning, which will help to establish and develop a stand of high quality trees, as well as creating more open woodland. 

Sycamore is starting to regenerate in areas adjacent to the application site, in the adjacent stands.

Most thinning and coppicing would be considered once trees are more established (approx. years 10–15). Thinning and coppicing interventions in the establishment phase will aim to promote a diverse stem density, stem diameter, tree forms and growth rates. This will set the site on a trajectory towards the structural complexity that is characteristic of old-growth woodland. Variation in stem density and diameter is an indicator of wildlife value and an important contribution to nature recovery. 

Woodland management and silvicultural treatments are complex and numerous, and a full account is beyond the scope of this guide. Various factors will inform aspects, such as the timing and intensity of an operation. 

Newly established woods and trees inevitably have a uniform age structure, whether planted, seeded, or naturally colonised. This gives sites a uniform appearance, enhanced only where existing trees provide a different structural element (at boundaries only).

Structural complexity is a key design principle for nature recovery. Although it may take many decades to develop the structural complexity provided by a range of age classes, early interventions can enhance the structure of woods and trees on the site and set it on a trajectory towards good ecological condition. Small-scale re-spacing interventions may be appropriate early in the establishment phase (approx. years 3–10). For example, cutting to give space for selected trees such as oak or rowan among a thicket of birch. This early intervention can help to promote tree species diversity. 

Most thinning and coppicing would be considered once trees are more established (approx. years 10–15)  

Structural complexity

To maximise complexity for nature recovery, follow a variable density-thinning approach. This highly selective and irregular approach aims to accentuate variation across the site – maximising differences in growth rates and ensuring the widest array of conditions. It involves leaving some areas denser and being highly selective and irregular about thinning elsewhere, so that some patches are considerably more open, but not clearly delineated. In areas with high stem density, competition suppresses growth; whereas in more open areas, trees will usually grow more rapidly in the absence of significant crown competition. The latter become open grown trees with larger diameter stems and greater structural complexity in their crowns. 

Generally, consider small coppice areas as the more open parts of variable density thinning interventions – which mesh into treatments across much wider areas – as opposed to clearly delineated traditional coupe rotation. Trees should be well established (approx. 8–10cm diameter) before making a first cut. 

Use interventions to accentuate transitions.  The resulting high structural complexity provides better foraging conditions for many bat species and more microhabitats and resources for many birds and butterflies. 

Bat boxes will be profide throughout the new woodland - details of which can be the subject of planning conditions.

The cutting of the wild flower meadow (with no collection of arisings) should be confined to the end of the flowering season (usually end of summer of early autumn) to encourage proliferation.

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