Hello & advice please on larch wood

[stable]

Hello,

 

I've taken a good look around and this seems to be a place with plenty of raw experience. Which i'm really lacking!

 

I'll try and be concise but my question is a little open ended. So TBH i'm really looking for opinions and advice more than anything.

 

I'm thinking of buying some Larch Woodland here in the hot zone #1 in Mid Wales. So far it all looks healthy.

 

It's only 3.5 acres but it has a lot of potential for turning into a craft centre which is my end goal, including glamping and workshops.

 

Whether the P ramorum will get to it before I even get the keys so to speak, I don't know. This is my concern and i'm assuming that it will get got!

 

So assuming worst case and it has to come down what will I get back if I harvest and fell 3.5 acres of mature dense but potentially deceased larch and how much will it cost me to get it out assuming I only fell them... i'm only looking for a ball park figures. I understand there is a lot of restrictions once it's deceased so assuming a lot processing I can't do at my friends saw mill. Which is why I ask. Basically will I be out of pocket or not if I have to fell it all?

 

What's peoples thoughts on how quickly it would recover if I planted it up with fast growing trees to be a 'beauty spot' again so I can start using for craft and glamping...

 

And finally am I mad to buy a larch woodland. What's current value like on un deceased larch woodland right now? Just wondering if I'm buying into headaches with my end goal as it is... And is larch woodland worth significantly less than say 10 years odd ago?

 

Many thanks in advance for any input or opinions.

 

Tom

[gm valmet]

hi I think I know the patch your talking about just on a lay-bye,we done a lot of work for the wildlife lot around the corner.i think its ideal location for what you have planned,but too be honest the trees would never come close to recovering what you paid for it even if there fine.The owner 2 yrs back asked us what the trees were worth as tillhill offered £2,500 for the lot!it was worth a little more in our opinion,and timber price has gone up scince! if it gets deceased its worth close to nothing as theres so many limitations with it. myselef I would see if your ideas for the land would be pretty sure to succeed, I hope this helps I will ask my dad to see if he remembers any more about the wood. gareth.

[stable]

Thanks for the heads up. It does sound like the same land. Small world. Even smaller in mid Wales! Be very interested to see what else you remember. I know the current owners were reportedly trying to sell up for a time.

 

I'm really looking at all the options. I am looking at going in with a few others so being the skeptic I am want to know what I'm getting into.

 

To me it seems worst case scenario is trees come down and we take a big hit on our initial out lay on the land. Re plant and wait for a wood to grow before landscaping etc.

 

As you say could be an ideal location for what we intend. And there's always risk. Hopefully there's enough potential.

 

Tom

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Get the timber volume measured... First things first... You'd want that before buying anyway.

 

Second: ease of extraction i.e. ground conditions, roadside stacking???...

[AlexB]

It will become infected , be under no illusion. If you can get a felling licence for a clear fell before the site gets a phn then clear it, re stock and start again.

 

Though if available I'd look for a broard leaf site. Cost wise, if you can I'd sell it standing, it'll save you a heap of hassle.

 

Depending on the outcome of tcd's recommendations I think you'd get between £15-25t standing.

 

Best of luck.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[stable]

I'll try and get up there today to try and calculate volume.

 

Access is good from main road with big layby and clear area at base of site - i'd imagine an easier site than many to harvest from. It is on a hill side.

 

In the back of my mind the chances of the larch surviving was there - seems to be a long shot.

[stable]

Out of interest what would the site be worth as clear felled? 3.5 acres in mid Wales. Ball park.

[agrimog]

fell, mill, process the timber into cladding, hot tubs, and garden products, (sheds, decking, furniture, etc) and get your money back plus, larch is a very much under utilised timber

[stable]

fell, mill, process the timber into cladding, hot tubs, and garden products, (sheds, decking, furniture, etc) and get your money back plus, larch is a very much under utilised timber

 

All investing in the project are self employed carpenters, gardeners and craft types so this will definatally come into play one way or another.

 

Just wondering where the larch comes in, in the current climate as a blessing or burden and reflects in purchase price.

[Ty Unnos]

Out of interest what would the site be worth as clear felled? 3.5 acres in mid Wales. Ball park.

 

The value of a woodland is the trees. Without them it is a long time before anyone will see a return on their money. Maybe 2K per acre for a clearfell site? Maybe less.