The National Trust has informed Luccombe Parish Council of a consultation about changes to wood and land wood pasture habitat at Tivington Farm. Please read the following and let them know your thoughts.

This part of the consultation will run for 28 days until 24/12/2021.

Any comments should be submitted via e-mail to somerset.countryside@nationaltrust.org.uk before the closing date. Feedback received after the closing date may not be able to be considered.

Your input to a woodland & wood pasture creation proposal  

The National Trust is currently in the design phase to create more woodland and wood pasture habitat on Tivington Farm which is part of the Holnicote Estate within Exmoor National Park.  

The project comprises the creation of 10.62ha of new woodland and 15.67ha of wood pasture. This will be located across Tivington Farm in six areas of which two are currently arable with the remaining four sites improved/semi-improved pasture land. 

Our proposal to represents an exciting opportunity to create high quality wildlife habitat with associated carbon sequestration that sits well within the landscape of Porlock Vale. This complements our wider plans for the farm which include creating species rich grassland, re-instating lost hedgerows and orchards and restoring a more naturally functioning hydrology.  

We would like to invite feedback on our proposal. This forms part of our consultation with stakeholders, which helps to ensure that we achieve an appropriate balance of objectives and have considered important site features.  

As part of the planning process, we are keen to get your feedback on our proposal. This forms part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the site which considers the potential impacts of the proposal on the wider environment. We are therefore asking for your feedback to ensure the proposal is considered, balanced, and takes into account the wider environment and landscape features in the area. This e-mail explains what information we would like you to provide to help inform the development of the woodland proposal and how this information will be used by us and the Forestry Commission who will make the EIA assessment. 

This is in line with Forestry Commission guidance on Woodland Creation Design Plans and ensures the design meets the requirements of the UK Forestry Standard1 (UKFS) which sets out requirements and guidelines for sustainable forest management in the UK, ensuring woodland management and creation proposals consider how social, economic, and environmental objectives are balanced. This balance will vary depending on the proposed new woodland’s situation and its management objectives. 

Any input you provide to inform the design of the proposed new woodland will be shared with the Forestry Commission to help them assess the proposal for its compliance with the UKFS. Your feedback will be most helpful and effective if it considers how specific UKFS requirements and guidelines might affect or be affected by the creation of the proposed woodland, or its design. 

The Government has announced an overarching aim to significantly expand tree and woodland cover across the UK in response to both the climate and biodiversity emergencies. The current commitment is to increase tree planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025 in line with the recommendation the Committee on Climate Change in 2019 and this will help us meet net zero carbon emissions by 2050.   

To achieve this will require planting the right tree in the right place. To ensure that your feedback supports this overarching aim, please make your comments factual and as constructive as possible; clearly set out your support for the proposals and the benefits they bring and/or, if you believe there are negative impacts, explain what these issues are and how these could be avoided or mitigated through the woodland’s design. 

Most woodland creation proposals in England are regulated by the Forestry Commission, under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) England and Wales Regulations 1999.  

If the final design for this proposal is subsequently put forward for assessment under these regulations, your input will be used by the Forestry Commission to help them form an opinion as to whether it is likely to have a significant impact on the environment.  

Should there be a material change to the proposal, we will contact you again. For example, if the proposal’s footprint has changed, or new information has come to light that indicates the woodland may have an environmental impact not accounted for in the woodland’s design. 

This part of the consultation will run for 28 days until 24/12/2021.

Any comments should be submitted via e-mail to somerset.countryside@nationaltrust.org.uk before the closing date. Feedback received after the closing date may not be able to be considered.