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Community Woodlands

Community Woodlands. Presentation Outline. About the Woodland Trust Community Woodlands Project Opportunities in Bracknell Forest Thames Basin Heaths SPA Local Planning Policy National Policy Drivers. The vision of the Woodland Trust.

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Community Woodlands

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  1. Community Woodlands

  2. Presentation Outline • About the Woodland Trust • Community Woodlands Project • Opportunities in Bracknell Forest • Thames Basin Heaths SPA • Local Planning Policy • National Policy Drivers

  3. The vision of the Woodland Trust • The Woodland Trust was founded in 1972 with the aim of conserving and expanding the UK’s native woodland. • Today the Trust has over 200,000 members, 300 staff and 1,000 woodland sites across the UK. • As the Trust flourished and the scale of its ambitions grew, managing and acquiring woodland was no longer enough so the Trust’s work grew into advocacy, campaigning, education and inspiration. • The vision today is a UK rich in native woods and trees valued by everyone.

  4. The aims of the Trust Our aims are... • To enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees • To protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future • To inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees

  5. What woods and trees do for us

  6. Community Woodland Project • The Trust is running a pilot project to understand the best ways of encouraging and supporting local groups to establish and manage community woodlands. • Voluntary Community Woodland Mentors have been recruited in five English counties to identify potential woodland sites and interested local groups. • Community woodlands must have public access. • Groups must have at least 10 members and be formally structured or be willing to become so. • Groups must be willing to take on freehold or leasehold ownership or at least a formal management agreement.

  7. What is a community woodland? • Community can define a group linked by their geographical location (a community of place), or a group linked by common aims and interests (a community of interests), or by common background or characteristics (community of identity). A single community may be more than one of these. • Motivations include social enterprise, leisure, access, conservation, protection, learning skills, etc. • Various sources suggest there are around 700 community woodland groups across the UK.

  8. What help is available from the Woodland Trust? • Finding a suitable site in your area. • Legal advice on buying/leasing a site or entering a management agreement. • Advice on the suitable trees, woodland design, planting and management. • Fundraising and grant funding advice and assistance. • Advertising for community involvement. • Free tree packs.

  9. Thames Basin Heaths SPA • Rare lowland heathland – home to threatened ground nesting birds • SPA Delivery Framework published February 2009 • Zone of Influence 400m to 5km from perimeter of SPA • Presumption against development inside 400m • Avoidance measures: • Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) • Access management • Habitat management

  10. SPA Zone of Influence

  11. Bracknell Forest Policy • Thames Basin Heaths SPA Avoidance & Mitigation SPD adopted March 2012 • SANG 8ha per 1,000 population • Payment towards strategic SANGS, or • Bespoke SANG provision in perpetuity • Additional to open space of public value (OSPV) • In accordance with Natural England standards • Management options: developer / BFC / 3rd party

  12. Open Space of Public Value • 4.3ha OSPV per 1,000 people • Active OSPV – sports / playgrounds / allotments (2ha) • Passive OSPV – country parks / natural & semi natural open space / green corridors / woodlands (2.3ha) • Provision & management options as SANG

  13. Warfield SPD Example

  14. National Policy Drivers • Big Society • Localism Agenda – Community right to challenge (bid to run local services) • Independent Panel on Forestry “We want communities to be more engaged with their local woods and forests, whether as visitors, volunteers, managers or even owners”

  15. Colin Griffin Community Woodland Mentor colingriffin@woodlandtrust.org.uk

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