Lots of trees for Tyne Tees

Tyne Tees in the North East is to be home to the biggest forest in decades as 600,000 new trees are hand planted.

Photo-True North

The largest English forest in more than 40 years is set to be built in Tyne Tees, near County Durham, stretching to more than 700 acres.

The area is poised to become home to England’s largest contiguous commercial forest to be planted since the 1980s after the Forestry Commission gave consent to True North Real Asset Partners’ Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund II, which will plant a 290-hectare forest, roughly equivalent to 185 football pitches, on the Greencroft Estate in Lanchester

80,000 Hours

That’s a remarkable amount of work hours for a single machine, the Norcar 600 owned by Erkki Rinne is taken well care of, it even has the original Diesel engine.
Kieran Anders Forestry

Kieran Anders is a forestry contractor working in the lake district. His work involves hand cutting and extracting timber using a skidder and tractor-trailer forwarder.
Promoting safety in the workplace

It is not possible to eliminate chain shot, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.
Glasfryn Fencing and Sawmill

Arwel takes great pride in the fact that the mill has no waste whatsoever, “the peelings are used for children’s playgrounds, gardens and for farm animals in barns in the winter and the sawdust has multiple uses in gardens and farms as well.
Keeping Timber Hauliers Safe

Timber hauliers need to encourage young blood in, and also look after the hauliers we have, we need make the sector a safe and positive place to work.

FIND US ON

Greencroft Forest Park will feature a mix of 31 species and 600,000 individual trees, with oak, birch and spruce leading the way.

Officials say the project will sequester 70,500 tonnes of carbon, improve local biodiversity and help mitigate flooding by reducing river levels by up to 10 per cent.

They add that the forest will be expected to produce sustainable timber by 2045, while supporting community engagement through educational programmes, nature walks and public access.

Tree planting will begin this winter, with site preparation beginning in the summer.

Harry Humble, chief executive of True North, the largest afforestation investor in the UK, said: “We are delighted that consent has been granted for the Greencroft Forest Park, It is a historic moment for the county.”

“We have invested heavily in understanding the ecology and heritage of the estate and canvassing local opinion and all of this informs the final design that has now been approved.”

“We are looking forward to getting the forest planted and delivering something that our neighbours in Lanchester and Annfield Plain can enjoy for decades to come.”

David Leslie, chairman of timber company James Jones & Sons, added: “This is fantastic news for Durham and the North East, which is receiving a unique amount of investment in the primary wood processing sector.

“New productive forests, such as Greencroft, give confidence to companies like ours and reinforce our decision to locate the UK’s most state-of-the-art sawmill in Durham.

“With the UK Government now committed to the Timber in Construction roadmap, which makes increasing the sustainable supply of homegrown timber a priority, we hope to see more projects like Greencroft being approved.”

David Leslie, chairman of timber company, James Jones & Sons, said: “This is fantastic news for Durham and the North East, which is receiving a unique amount of investment in the primary wood processing sector.

“New productive forests, such as Greencroft, give confidence to companies like ours and reinforce our decision to locate the UK’s most state-of-the-art sawmill in Durham. With the UK Government now committed to the Timber in Construction roadmap, which makes increasing the sustainable supply of homegrown timber a priority, we hope to see more projects like Greencroft being approved.”