FOUNTAINS SPRING IN TO CREATE WOODLAND IN THE NATIONAL FOREST (14/06/06)

Alastair Sandels (Director, Forestry Division, fountains plc) and Sophie Churchill (Chief Executive, National Forest Company) recently dug into productive arable land at Nailstone to plant a grove of feature trees.

This completed the planting of a new 8.09 hectare (20 acre) woodland at Nailstone in The National Forest. Located at a gateway site to The National Forest on the busy B585 just north of Nailstone (Leicestershire) the woodland is set to be one of the more immediately visible woodlands in the Forest.

Over 50 forest investors were asked to submit plans for the land through the Forestry Commission’s English Woodland Grant Scheme, undertake to give permissive access (where people can walk over the land for the majority of the year) and submit a price.

After considering the proposals, the fountains scheme was selected by the NFC as offering the most sensitive woodland design and the best value for money proposal.
The woodland was planted with a wide range of broadleaved species at variable spacing on curvi-linear rows. The aim is to create a multi-purpose woodland with quality timber as a long-term goal.

“Fountains have been actively involved in The National Forest since it was started in 1995,” commented Alastair Sandels.

“The opportunity to create a woodland in the Forest ourselves greatly appealed to us. We are looking forward to using the site as a demonstration of the work that we do and as an exemplar woodland for our clients,” he added.

“We know that the opportunity to create a woodland appeals to many people,” said Sophie Churchill

“and we were very pleased with the response that we received. I could see from my visit when we planted the final trees that the site has been carefully planned and I am sure it will indeed be an example of a well managed woodland. It will be seen and enjoyed by many people and we wish fountains every success.”