About:

The Ostlers Forest Plan replaces and updates the existing plan for Ostlers. It sets out our management proposals for the next 50 years and facilitates approval for felling and thinning, both conventional and unconventional, for the next 10 years.

Ostlers lies 1.5 miles south east of Woodhall Spa and is designated as open access land.  The wood contains notable plant, reptile, and mammal species and an abundance of Second World War buildings of heritage interest.  The woodland and car park are popular with walkers, dog walkers & horse riders; as well as the sports clubs and groups which run activities and events within the plantation.

Objectives:

The main objectives for Ostlers Forest Plan are:

Economic

• Continue timber production through a structured and sustained programme of clearfell and thinning to include infrastructure requirements (roads and main drains).
• Select suitable species and appropriate silvicultural techniques to regenerate (either naturally or through planting) commercially productive but more structurally and species diverse and resilient crops.

Environmental

• Maintain the current extent and ecological value of the non-designated priority habitats.
• Recognise the requirements of adjacent SSSI.
• Identify existing locations of trees of special interest and demonstrate appropriate management to both maintain the current resource and to recruit future veteran replacements.
• Identify appropriate areas to increase deadwood habitat and propose management to maintain a sustainable resource.
• Identify key species and sites and make appropriate provision for their requirements.
• Demonstrate how the plan links to the Forest District invasives strategy.

Social

• Recognise and make provision of the cultural heritage of the site.
• Diversify species composition and structure, and plan sympathetically designed and appropriately scaled interventions to improve and maintain the visual integration of the forest into the wider landscape.
• Recognise the location and scale of demand in making appropriate provision for public access.

What we’ll do:

Planned operations within the 10 year period of the plan are summarised below:

• Felling of 5.5ha of conifers.
• Restocking of 5.5ha of conifers.
• Underplanting of 17.7ha of conifers and 0.3ha of broadleaves.

The species composition will also change from 80% conifers, 7.6% broadleaf and 12.4% open in 2017 to 67.1% conifer, 20.5% broadleaf, and 12.4% open in 2067.

All of our forests and woodlands in this Forest District are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council®(FSC®) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). All Forestry England forests and woods are independently certified as sustainably managed, to continue to benefit future generations.