Hazel and TPO ?

[oldclaypaws]

Ring barking- cunning. Big hardwoods with lots of tannin like Oak and Sweet Chestnut or resinous pines will stay standing for years without deteriorating, so you could create a 'stock' of ringbarked trees within the 20 cu metre / annum to fell and process at your leisure. Just to head off any disgruntlement from nosy neighbours it might still be an idea to advise the FC of your intentions by copying them with a management plan, so there's a record of you doing it all above board. Most of my big oaks are probably around 3-5 cu metre each, so if I was to aim for a typical standards and coppice density of around 40% canopy cover and do one oak per quarter, I'd take over 20 years to work my way through the 80+ big oaks that need thinning. Maybe I should forward plan and try and get a deal on a 1 kilometre spool of ripping chain and a couple of 40 gallon drums of bio chain oil ?

[smojo]

It should be remembered that the Forestry Commission allow as standard practice coppicing, thinning, creation of rides and glades and felling of 5 cubic metres per quarter (3 Months) without any license required. With young Sycamores 20m cu per year would be possibly 80 trees (?).

As such your plan is likely to fall well within FC standard allowances and they might say 'you don't need any special consent from us, carry on'. Just make sure you don't exceed the allowances, and have some acknowledgement from them that your plan is well within the bounds of normal acceptable activity, that way you can just about do what you want within reason and not have the council on your back. I rather fancy the FC will say 'why are you asking us, you're not doing anything we'd be fussed about'.

I appreciate your encouragement and suggestions Paws but I'm not sure that this approach would be within the TPO law. As I understood it from the Council officer, if you get a felling license from the FC - then the TPO becomes null and void because the FC will have had to approve your management plan to get one. But without a license the TPO would still be in force and require planning permission from the council and the FC have little or no interest in the matter as long as you are under the 5 cubic/metre/quarter limit. The FC may allow those practises mentioned but without a license and no planning permission granted from the council you would be breaking the law and the fines can be up to £20k per tree. So in a nutshell, any "lopping topping or uprooting" in a wood with a TPO will need either an FC felling license or planning permission. I have to go down one route or the other.

[oldclaypaws]

I'm not sure theres such a thing as a supervised 'license-light' to fell below the limits that doesn't require a license, if you follow. I'd ask both the FC and Council if a modest level of activity such as the odd bit of thinning and gradual long term enrichment might form an approved plan that both the FC and Council will rubber stamp or acknowledge. Normally a management plan (which may be no more than a brief paragraph) supplements a felling license or major scheme, but isn't required or necessary to be approved if you're just thinning a bit and clearing brambles. Lots, perhaps the majority of small woods have no active management or plans or the clipboard brigade looking over your shoulder. Its a bit like saying you need a driving license to drive a car, and some road knowledge is useful to ride a push bike, but if you were stopped on a bike and then asked the police if they wanted to see your driving license and public liability insurance documents, they'd think you were being a bit over conscientious/ or quaintly self over-regulating.

The FC and Council will at least appreciate you are trying to do things within an agreed framework and should be willing to suggest an easy way forward. Fret ye not laddie, the way to go will be apparent after a few informal chats. TPO's aren't designed to stop you doing normal light activity, just drastic daft stuff.

Doubtless your fellow plot holders have considered the same and may be able to give guidance what arrangement is in place with them.

Glad I haven't any TPO's or in an AONB, I'm very conscientious about my trees and ecosystem but not a fan of officialdom, although I'm tempted to put a TPO on Rex, my own tree, to protect him from unwanted attention after I've gone.

[oldclaypaws]

Smojo- I found the following post on another thread by Bearwood (you may have seen it) which I think you should consider;

Our wood has a TPO covering the whole wood for 'amenity' value (which is a loophole-term the local council will use if the wood is privately owned of no importance other than for the view). The TPO hinders us in no way at all as we have a felling license for 55m3 per annum. The only difference a TPO makes when it comes to applying for a licence is that you simply tick the 'does the land have a TPO' box. This basically means that the FC speak to your local planning authority about the effects of the TPO, but ultimately the FC have the final say and will overrule the local authority if you have a coherent management plan.

It all sounds scary, but it's simpler than applying for a tax disc by post!

Maybe you could put in a plan to the FC with an exaggerated level of activity, like ' progressively fell & replace all the sycamore with noble native hardwoods over 10 years', then just do as little as you want, with the Council & TPO off your back ?

If you want, given a bit of knowledge about your wood and objectives, I'll be happy via email to help you collate some sort of management plan that the FC might accept which also fulfils your own objectives and enhances the wood.

[smojo]

Ta. Away for a week and patchy internet cover. Chat more when I get back

[smojo]

I'm back and can't wait to get "into t'woods" on Saturday. Paws - thanks a lot for the offer. I'm still giving some thought to which way to go (planning permission from council or felling licence from FC. Either way needs a management plan which I am working on but I need some more observation and research time. My ideas and goals are progressing as I read and learn more about woodland management. I'm enjoying the process.