Coronation Wood to be planted by Forestry England near Ludlow
Forestry England will create a Coronation Wood at Bucknell in Shropshire to celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III. The woodland, which will likely be called Lower Lye Wood, will cover 21 hectares and connect with Bucknell Wood, a 225-hectare woodland which Forestry England already manages.
The new woodland site will be planted with a mix of broadleaf and conifer trees providing a rich habitat for wildlife, a beautiful space for people to enjoy and a sustainable source of timber.
Lower Lye Wood will be open for public access and be designed as a quiet woodland for local people to explore and enjoy. A stream runs through the new woodland site and Forestry England will design the woodland and choose tree species to support the water quality and improve wildlife habitat.
Forestry England will share designs for the new woodland during public consultation in early 2024, and will invite local people and organisations to give their ideas and feedback before these are finalised. The plans will be submitted to the Forestry Commission for approval before planting begins.
Forestry England forester for the Shropshire Hills, Clive Jackson, said;
“We’re very excited to share the news that Forestry England has bought new land for woodland creation in Shropshire.
“Planning and planting a brand new woodland is an exciting moment and we’re doing the detailed work of deciding the right mix of tree species which will flourish in the soil and climate conditions here. We’re looking carefully at the many different benefits this woodland will bring in the decades ahead including flood alleviation and how the wood can boost biodiversity and help nature recovery across the wider landscape of the Shropshire Hills.”
You can keep up to date with progress on the creation of Lower Lye Wood on the Forestry England website - forestryengland.uk/new-woodland-lower-lye.
Lower Lye Wood is one of many woodlands Forestry England is planting by 2026 which together will cover more than 2,000 hectares and support Government targets to increase tree planting across the UK. Forestry England is creating it as well as several other Coronation Woods through the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund.
For more information on how Forestry England is growing the nations forests see: www.forestryengland.uk/growing-the-nations-forests
Notes to Editor
- Forestry England manages and cares for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests, with over 291 million visits in 2022/23. As England’s largest land manager, we shape landscapes and enhance forests for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and businesses to grow. We are continuing the work we have already started to make the nation’s forests resilient to climate change and by 2026 we will:
- create at least 6,000 more hectares where we integrate wilding activities in our productive forests
- increase the diversity of visitors to the nation’s forests and have one million hours of high-quality volunteer time given to the nation’s forests
- plant at least 2,000 hectares of new, high quality, predominantly broadleaf woodlands
For more information visit forestryengland.uk. Forestry England is an agency of the Forestry Commission.
- Forestry England is creating this and other Coronation Woods through the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund. The Government has committed to increasing tree planting rates across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament and intend to spend over £500 million of the £640 million Nature for Climate Fund on trees and woodlands in England between 2020 and 2025 to support this ambition.
Media Contact:
Holly Pretious, Marketing and Communications Officer, holly.pretious@forestryengland.uk