Falkirk Community Trust has written to residents about works taking place at Kinneil Estate. Trees will be felled and new trees planted from December 2014 to March 2015. We’re publishing the Trust’s letter in full below:
The woodlands on the Kinneil Estate have been badly damaged by storms and require major forestry works to make them safe and return the woodland to good health. A Long Term Forest Plan (LTFP) has been prepared for the site by the Central Scotland Green Network and funding for the required works has been provided by the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative, Falkirk Council and Falkirk Community Trust.
The programme of regeneration within the woodland is due to start on the 1st of December and continue into March 2015 and will involve significant changes to the woodland and disruption to the site while the works take place. In the short term members of the public may be inconvenienced by the noise of operations, lack of access to the woodland sections of the sites and a slight increase in vehicular movement in the wider road area.
The usual woodland car parks will also be closed with alternative parking provided at the entrance to the site on the grassy field. In the long term everyone will benefit from the woodland being brought back into management and there are several things which you can do to assist the contractor carrying out the project and ensure the work is carried out as quickly and safely as possible.
- Please stay out of any areas signed or cordoned off for woodland works even when you cannot see any obvious signs of work being carried out. The machinery in use is large and operators are not expecting pedestrians to be walking in and out of their work zone. Ground conditions after vehicles have been operating may be hazardous as may stacks of timber.
- Where stacks of timber are stored outside of the immediate work zone ready for pickup it is essential that you do not climb on or otherwise touch them. The stacks can move and each piece of timber is very heavy and could cause significant damage.
- Take care when using paths outside of the work zone which vehicles may be travelling over, the vehicles themselves will be operating with due care and attention but may leave ruts or other hazards on the paths. All the public routes will be repaired once work has finished but while it is in progress be careful not to trip on any uneven surfaces.
- Contact us (Falkirk Community Trust) immediately if you notice any problems or issues on site, particularly signs of vandalism and theft but also any concerns about public safety or wildlife conservation.
There may be a period of several weeks when a forwarder and harvester are working on site during the night. This is sometimes necessary as the machinery is highly specialist and accounts for a significant percentage of the costs of carrying out the project, so having it working for as many hours as possible is essential if the forest plan is to be achievable within budget. The work zone locations and topography of the site make it unlikely that the noise will carry and disrupt residents sleep but this is impossible to fully assess until the machinery is operational so if you do experience any significant inconvenience please do contact us immediately to alert us to the problem.
Please be aware that compartments within the site where replanting of young trees is scheduled will be fenced off to prevent deer damaging the plants as they establish. This fencing will stay in place for many years but will not restrict access to the path network. For updates on this year’s works as they progress, and PDF maps showing the year by year felling schedule and replanting plans please visit the (Falkirk Community Trust) website
- For queries relating to the contractors working on site – Mike Ewart, CSGN – 01501 824795
- For queries relating to the wider site outside the work zone – Phil Hannah and Claire Mennim, Falkirk Community Trust – 01324 590900
Words: Falkirk Community Trust / Pictures: The Friends of Kinneil
Kinneil 