About

The Sotby Forest Plan comprises a single block of woodland situated to the east of Wragby in Lincolnshire, just to the north of the A158. The 116 hectares covered by the plan is all freehold; managed by the Forestry Commission and open for public access.

The woodland is a mixture of broadleaf and conifer species and has no formal environmental or heritage designations. It has a healthy level of access by members of the public, although it has no formal recreation facilities.

Objectives

The main objectives for Sotby 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.
• In areas where there is evidence that the water table is close to the surface, propose alternative silvicultural systems to allow successful establishment of productive crops.

Environmental

• Demonstrate appropriate management to maintain the current extent and ecological value of the non-designated priority habitats.
• Identify existing locations of tress 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.

Social

• 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 24.2ha of conifers and 4ha of broadleaves.
• Restocking of 19.7ha of conifers and 1.5ha of broadleaves. 

The species composition will also change from 54.4% conifers, 34.5% broadleaf and 11.1% open in 2016 to 50.7% conifer, 32.1% broadleaf, and 17.2% open in 2066.

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.