When I joined the Allerton Project in 2024, I was excited to see the woodland management plan. Or perhaps I was more concerned to see what I had signed up to. I knew the 48 hectares of woodland required attention, and that woodland management was going to be a large part of my role here.
I have always been frustrated by the lack of management in many English woodlands. I’m unsure how much of this is due to a lack of appreciation for woodlands or simply a lack of funding. In many cases, if there isn’t a financial return to be made through timber sales, woodlands are left alone. Considering how much of our landscape woodland covers – and the biodiversity it supports – I find this a crying shame.
So when I had a quick glance at our management plan, the words “clear fell” stood out. They may have been written in the same font as everything else, but they could just as well have been bold, highlighted and underlined. My first reaction was that this couldn’t possibly be the best course of action. The impact on nature would be huge and recovery would take years. I needed to understand how that conclusion had been reached, so I went to inspect the wood.
The first parcel, Church Wood, sits near the village church – around 2.5 hectares and roughly 90% ash. I presume it was planted fifty or so years ago for timber. Much of the Allerton Project’s woodland, and the wider local area, is dominated by ash. Ash was still being planted here in the early 2000s, before anyone knew ash dieback was on its way. The second parcel, Railway Spinney, had more diversity, with a couple of veteran beech trees and a good stand of alder along the watercourse.
By spring 2024 I got a true feel for what we were dealing with. Once in leaf, it was easy to see the extent of ash dieback. Many trees were already standing dead; others had only a few lower branches showing any signs of life. Facing that reality, I felt there were only two options: leave the woodland to collapse slowly, or clear fell. Given the public access along the south boundary, leaving it was not a safe or sensible option, so clear felling became the only practical solution – however harsh it felt.
I invited the Forestry Commission to site to seek advice on how best to deal with a dead and dying woodland. They were certain: clear fell was the correct route. They also suggested support through the Woodland Tree Health Grant to restock the area – a grant I wasn’t aware of, and one I would urge any land manager facing ash dieback to look into.
I found a contractor willing to buy the timber standing, at a reasonable price, and planned to begin works in early autumn 2025. The work would be done in two stages: part in 2025 and part in 2026, spreading both the financial and environmental risk and giving nature a chance to adjust.
Church Wood was to be taken in two compartments, while Railway Spinney had enough diversity to retain areas of woodland. Instead of a full clear fell, we created three small coupes and thinned the remaining area, removing the worst of the infected ash.
Works for 2025 are now complete. We have been fortunate with the weather, and I look forward to restocking the cleared areas in the new year. The experience has certainly changed my views on clear felling. It has brought benefits: income that will be reinvested into thinning other woodlands on the estate; two years’ worth of biomass for our heating systems; and, once restocked and matured, a more diverse woodland that will benefit wildlife for years to come.
That said, it is hard to take anything positive from the wider consequences of ash dieback. It will change our woodlands dramatically. We can only hope some trees develop immunity. But as land managers, we must be proactive. Long-term planning is essential if we are to minimise the damage caused by this devastating fungal disease.