Case Study 2 - Brockhill Estate, Shelsey Walsh, Worcestershire
Background
Brockhill Estate has the largest area of
ancient woodland in one ownership in Worcestershire. The woodland is an
integral part of an extensive agricultural estate and consists of a large woodland
extending for five miles on one side of the Teme Valley with a number of small
outliers. The size and
raised elevation of the main wood create an important and prominent landscape
feature.
Andrew
Bronwin & Co has managed the 310 hectares of mixed woodland since 2000. The
management of the woods is difficult due to the topography of the woodland with
steep escarpment slopes bisected by river valleys, the nearby River Teme SSSI,
the ancient semi-natural origin of significant areas, stands of under thinned
conifer crops and numerous rights of way.
The main
aim of management has been to produce a sustainable income from timber sales
whilst complementing the shooting interests and enhancing the ecology. The characteristics of the woodland means that
some areas, generally the most ecologically valuable, are not managed primarily
for timber.
Management
One of the first actions of Andrew Bronwin
& Co was to produce a five-year plan for the woodland based on an
ecological survey and a timber survey. A deer management plan was also produced
for the woodland. To date management
activity has concentrated on the improvement of the tracks and ride and timber loading
infrastructure to enable cost effective timber harvesting; and the improvement
of the more accessible stands through a programme of selective thinning.
An updated woodland management plan was
produced in 2010 and has enabled the owner to attract significant grant aid
towards the management of the woods including the restoration of conifer
plantations to native woodland, deer control, further track construction work,
widening and mowing rides to improve biodiversity, and the respacing of young
stands. At the same time, the whole of the woodland was remapped.
Although the management of the woodland has
at times been challenging, Andrew Bronwin & Co has been able to generate an
income from the woodland whilst at the same time improving its timber quality
and ecological value.
Testimonial
“I have been very happy with the
progress made by Andrew Bronwin & Co in bringing the woodlands into
sustainable management after I inherited the woodlands from my uncle and the
fact that financially they have consistently done better than budget” Sir Anthony Winnington, owner