Amarus

As usual, a load of crap from both sides of the fence. It is clear, the writer has an agenda and nothing else matters and the planting didn't go as planned either but calling a less than a year old planting a failure is a bit premature. Judge it in year five, perhaps. The comments are very typical of armchair experts touting a load of rubbish.

The previous thread has been referenced already but some more pointers: FC guidance which sends you to the NE page. If you have not done it already, check all the documents you can find on this site when you search for the name of your SSSI. Find out why was it designated as an SSSI and what the reports are saying about the condition etc. Read the VAM (what NE would like to see) and ORNEC (what do you need consent for) documents. The most important thing, however, is getting in touch with NE.

What did 5lab say? No public access and no other targets. The FC has no say in what NE will allow on designated land and their view is quite clear if no safety issues are present. One could potentially achieve a different result if justified correctly but that takes time, effort and a lot of money.

I did say technically. See Sites of special scientific interest: managing your land - GOV.UK WWW.GOV.UK When you need consent for a proposed operation or management change on land in a SSSI and how to apply. I have not yet heard anyone being actually taken for a ride as such but the powers are there. If NE want to make an example of someone they do have the means. Given how the media focuses on green issues and knowing some of the zealots in NE personally this risk would be too much for me on top of the ash problems but others might have different appetite.

If you read the previously mentioned research on resistance and survival rates what you are looking at is less than 5% or 1% of the 80% to be alive within a matter of years. Would you be really happy to let your children play in an area that is full dead ash, playfully known as widow makers? The alternative is to fell/clear this ~80% and replant with something else; your children will get the experience watching it to regrow. The problem with that in the first place: It is very relevant to NE, I already linked the guidance. NE will not give you any other licences than thinning as you don't have any H&S related targets (as you alluded to it) therefore they will not allow you to do a lot as the mythical resistant ash might reside in your wood. To sum up, you are looking at a dying ash woodland (80%) with no heavy machinery access on a steep slope that is a SSSI. You need to have some deep pockets to turn this into something else. There are a lot of good points amongst the replies overshadowed by some really unbelievable answers. As I mentioned before, talk to real professionals. Most agents do offer a free initial visit, speak to one of them in your area: Advisor Directory | woodlandadvisors WWW.WOODLANDADVISORSGROUP.CO.UK PS the attached is looking at some ash in the Cotswolds. Can you spot the problem?

I strongly recommend reading the guidance by the FC & NE on SSSI here, especially section 4.10. Managing woodland SSSIs and ancient woodland with ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) - GOV.UK WWW.GOV.UK In a nutshell if your SSSI is designated because of the ash woodland then you will not be given a felling licence to clear all of it at once. If the site is steep then you need as much volume as possible to help with the costs hence the need for felling it all at once. It will go downhill from there. There is no (common) sense in NE and the FC will dance to NE's tune only. If I were you I would ask for professional advice on buying a woodland property first as it is clear to me you need a lot of help. You could vet the agents on their knowledge on ash and SSSI i.e. list the number of felling licences or managements plans they secured with ash and designations being present in the last few years. Secondly, I would pass on this lot entirely. Buying a SSSI is no game and technically NE could force you to manage the woodland towards favourable recovering status no matter the costs to you. It will be classed as unfavourable declining by default due to the ADB. And to answer your question: An unholy mess of broken trees (as all ash will be dead if not already) with a lot of bramble and and other scrub until the sycamore wins in 40-50 years.

Bit late to the party. Instead of asking random strangers on the internet why don't you give a call to any of the sales agents? Ignore the obvious woodlands.co.uk type people. woodland+sale+agents+uk - Recherche Google WWW.GOOGLE.COM As posted before by others, with 100k to invest you are not going to get rich, make any sort of living or just break even. If it were possible, hordes of people would be doing it already. It is a pipe dream for many for a reason. If the price of the wood is cheap then something is wrong with it. For your 100k here is a gem in the SW: https://wdcdn.co/media/pdf/9cf2722a-9f7a-47b5-97d1-b25fbacf8994.pdf Can you spot the problems? Managing a woodland is not cheap if you have no skills and knowledge. Why should it be? You need to pay someone else or or learn the trade; neither is cheap or easy. Getting any sort of change of use of the woodland is not impossible but you need very deep pockets and expert help and only works in limited circumstances. The cost of plantable land is high as everyone else is looking for it in the UK. The planting grants will not even cover 50% of the actual costs of getting it established over the first 20-25 years. You could trade carbon on paper but it is a wildest west out there with the regulatory body changing the rules on a whim. And you have not even heard of the squirrels. There are millions of charities and groups out there if you want some hands-on experience, go and volunteer first. If you decide to go for it, please, go and speak to an expert in the field who is in the forestry property market as I have met too many people going in blind and having a rude awakening. If you treat it as a past time, it is different discussion altogether, very rewarding but hard work

Felling ash dieback affected trees needs a felling licence. It is clearly written here and was quoted before: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/managing-ash-dieback-in-england#guidance-for-land-managers-and-tree-owners Second sentence. Unless you have a tree survey clearly identifiying the trees that are immediate risk to property or life etc. Most woodland officers will read that as the exemption only applies to anything that is urgent i.e. 1 months or less otherwise they want a licence. Someone should challenge it as the interpretation varies wildly between officers. The licence free allowance only includes 5m3 per calendar quarter as long as no more than 2m3 is sold. Per woodland property and not per owner. On the last day of March one can fell 5m3 then on the first day of April another 5m3. Anything less than 8cm in diameter at 1.3m does not need a licence. 1-2 acres will not qualify for a funded management plan as the minimum area is 3 hectares about 7.5 acres. You can do an unfunded one but it would not be very economic. Tips about just fell it one by one/leave stems standing: as long as within the 5m3 allowance no problem but unlikely to remove the safety risk. Do not think, however, that you can get away with it as there is a footpath, people will report any felling (COVID fatigue) and the FC will use Google maps to compare years. The latter is updated several times a year and changes are easy to track. You need a felling licence, footpath closure while doing the work and I suggest employing a professional to get you the right licence while ensuring there are no other factors you need to consider and account for (designations, critters, TPO and the like). Depending on the type of felling replanting might be stipulated by the licence. Good luck!