Plan to fell North forest

Nov 20 2008 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

PLANS have been drawn up to fell an entire conifer forest of around a million trees in Northumberland.

If the clearance of Threestoneburn Forest goes ahead, it would be one of the biggest landscape changes in Northumberland National Park since its designation in 1956.

The forest, 1,500ft up in the Cheviot Hills around 10km from Wooler, was bought by Lilburn Estate from the Forestry Commission in January 2007.

Conifers – 73% of which are Sitka Spruce – cover 568 hectares on the flanks of Hedgehope and Dunmoor Hill.

Threestoneburn, which is adjacent to grouse moorland, was bought in January 2007 by Wooler-based Lilburn Estate, which is run by Duncan Davidson.

The decision on whether the forest can be felled rests with the Forestry Commission, and is likely to be made early next year.

Today the move will be debated at a special open meeting of Northumberland National Park Authority at 3.30pm at the Tankerville Arms in Wooler.

Members are being advised to back the felling move, subject to tree planting to compensate for the loss of the carbon-absorbing forest and measures to help around 70 red squirrels which live at Threestoneburn.

Under the Lilburn Estate proposals, felling would take three years and yield around 150,000 tonnes of saleable timber. The timber would be brought out by lorry through the Breamish Valley and 1,568 metres of new road would be built and 6,419 metres of track upgraded.

This means it would be necessary to quarry 27,500 tonnes of stone, which would lead to the reopening of two local quarries.

Habitat restoration in the cleared land would result in blanket bog being increased from 64 hectares to 296 hectares, heathland from the existing 60 hectares to 292, grassland from 12 hectares to 57 and native woodland from two hectares to 67. Blanket bog and upland heath are habitats of international importance and native woodland is of national importance. Nine years ago the national park was approached by the Forestry Commission with a draft forest design plan for Threestoneburn.

Members, concerned about the impact of the forest on the landscape, ruled that the park authority did not consider commercial forestry to be an appropriate land use at Threestoneburn.

They were unwilling to approve the design plan and said that after the commercial felling of the forest, no more conifers should be planted. Birds like goshawk, merlin, and crossbill would lose out as a result of deforestation but black grouse would benefit.

Brendan Callaghan, Forestry Commission regional director, said: “It is a very big area of land and there is a complexity of issues. We are still prepared to take any comments from the public into consideration as we have extended the consultation period in order to allow the full Northumberland National Park Authority to consider the case. Comments should be sent to: Colin Grayson, Forestry Commission, Redford, Hamsterley, Bishop Auckland, County Durham DL13 3NL.

Elaine Rigg, national park landscape and recreation manager, said: “The proposals are probably one of the biggest landscape changes in the park since designation and it is a complicated decision.”