Woodland track

[treebloke]

I need to improve the access track which runs through my wood, I am told we can no longer use rubble from demolition sites. I would think in these day's of re-cycling it would be a good idea?.

[Darren]

Why can't you use rubble?

[John H]

I've just had a couple of loads tipped to make some more hardstanding. We usually use stone dug out of the River Towy.The farmer gets a licence to remove a couple of hundred tons. It helps the river maintain it's course, well so he tells me, and by the next spring more stone has been washed down to replace it.

John

[woodlander]

I presume it's the same madness that says when a farmer cleans a ditch out he has to have a licence to put the 'waste 'next to the ditch I heard there was clearance for useing road scalpings now as hardcore for farm tracks so that may be worth a look and lots of quarries have stockpiles of low qaulity stone they have to clear to get to the good stuff make sure theres plenty of fines in it to help binding . I have used a white membrane fabric under some of my tracks it comes in rolls about 5m wide but saves lots of hardcore especially on boggy sites .

[RichardKing]

The FC told me that we are NOT allowed to use "road scalpings" on woodland tracks as it can harden to re-form itself into a tarmac surface.

[docsquid]

We built some access tracks in our woods over the last couple of years. Initially we thought it would be a good idea to use recycled material that was recommended by another local wildlife site. We used recycled tiles and bricks. However when we put it down we found that it tended to leach out all sorts of stuff, and there was an oily residue on the water flowing off the recycled brick/tile. Although it was more expensive we reverted to using normal roadstone (MOT type I) and it was much better. We ended up digging out the recycled stuff and getting rid of it because we weren't happy that it was chemically inert - it was an expensive mistake.

So, recycling might sound OK but even though we went to a supplier recommended by the wildlife trust, we weren't happy with it.

[Exeldama]

Road scalpings... do harden up and reform tarmac... great for farm tracks but not good for wildlife friendly locations.. Rubble that is uncontaminated is a good use... after all what is brick and the such made of if not the ground itself..ok its baked and the like but nature will deal with that.

i used some rubble no more than 6 months ago and nature is already reclaiming it... do these burecrats prefer, deeply rutted mud tracks where nothing survives at all... some people just cant afford completeley inert and expensive materials.

[docsquid]

I think we just got a bad batch of contaminated rubble - we used the same supplier as the wildilfe trust and theirs was fine.

[treebloke]

You can use rubble from building sites but it has come through a licensed operator, this is to ensure only suitable materials are recylced and not asbestos etc.

Farmers and woodland owners can use road scalpings but you will need to register with the EA, this also applys to demolition rubble unless you are using small amounts.

[Meadowcopse]

Environment Agency link to 2010 updated regulations:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/permitting/115492.aspx

Online application forms once you decide on activities and operations...

Daniel