‘Coronation Wood’ to be planted near Carlisle by Forestry England

Sleetbeck wood site

Coronation Wood to be planted near Carlisle by Forestry England

Forestry England will create a Coronation Wood to celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III at Roadhead, near Longtown in Cumbria. The woodland, to be called Sleetbeck Wood, will cover up to 63 hectares and join up with Kershope Forest, which Forestry England already manages. 

The new woodland site, which is just over 13 miles from Carlisle, 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.

Sleetbeck Wood will include public access and be designed as a quiet woodland for local people to explore and enjoy. It will join up with Kershope Forest and its existing forest road network. Forestry England will share draft designs for the new woodland at a public consultation event at Roadhead Public Hall on Wednesday 1st November from 4pm to 7pm and is inviting local people and organisations to give their ideas and feedback before these are finalised. People can also submit their views online until Thursday 9th November. The plans will be submitted to the Forestry Commission for approval before planting begins.

Kevin May, Forest Management Director, said;

“We’re very excited to share the news that Forestry England has bought new land for woodland creation in North East Cumbria. The new Sleetbeck Wood will become part of the nation’s forests we care for in perpetuity, allowing people to enjoy and explore it in every season and support their health and wellbeing.

“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 how Sleetbeck Wood can boost biodiversity and help nature recovery across the wider landscape.

“Through our public consultation event and online, we welcome everyone to look at our proposals and get involved as the woodland plans take shape and look forward to this woodland becoming a much-loved feature in the years to come.”

Sleetbeck 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. It one of several Coronation Woods Forestry England is planting to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III. Forestry England is creating Sleetbeck Wood and other Coronation Woods through the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund.

You can keep up to date with progress on the creation of Sleetbeck Wood on the Forestry England website - forestryengland.uk/sleetbeck-wood.

Notes to editor

 

  1. 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.

  1. 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:

Naomi Fuller, Media Relations Officer | media@forestryengland.uk  |T: 07825 255618|