Forestry England is creating a new 40-hectare woodland which will join on to Delamere Forest in Cheshire and provide more space for people to enjoy, improved habitat for wildlife and a sustainable supply of home-grown timber.
Hondslough Wood at the northern edge of Delamere Forest is currently farmland and Forestry England is buying the land from Cheshire West and Chester Council to create a thriving woodland which will be planted with mixed conifer and broadleaf trees, specially selected to be resilient to future climate conditions.
The woodland will be managed as part of Delamere Forest, which covers 753 hectares and welcomes around 750,000 visitors each year to enjoy the walking and cycling trails and other recreation opportunities.
The forest is home to a variety of wildlife including white-faced darter dragonflies, tawny owls, common lizards and long eared and pipistrelle bats.
It also produces around 6,000 cubic metres of sustainably grown timber each year, carefully managed alongside the recreation opportunities and biodiversity activities.
The new area of woodland will have public access to enable visitors to Delamere Forest to explore a quieter forest landscape.
Paddy Harrop, Forest Management Director, said: “This new area of woodland for Delamere Forest is going to be a wonderful forest landscape for visitors to enjoy in every season.
“And creating this woodland next to established forest also means we’ll be expanding existing wildlife habitats to provide greater benefits for biodiversity.
The new woodland is one of many 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 is the second ‘Coronation Wood’ Forestry England is planting to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III; the first, Clipsham Wood, is being planted at a site on the border between Rutland and Leicestershire.
Forestry England is creating this and other Coronation Woods through the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund.
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