Otterbourne Park Wood - Otterbourne

Long term intentions

The Woodland Trust's corporate objectives of no further loss of ancient woodland, improving biodiversity and enhancing the public's enjoyment of the woodland can all be met in Otterbourne Park Wood. The long-term intentions which help to achieve these objectives are:

No further loss of ancient woodland

- To maintain the present high forest woodland structure and approximate species composition to retain its recognised status as a County Heritage Site.

- To continue the present gradual, phased programme of Turkey oak removal over the next 50 years to encourage native oak to thrive.

- To consider the possible requirement for deer culling if the high numbers present a threat to the regeneration of native trees.

- To regularly monitor the extent of fly tipping along the gardens of neighbouring properties in Park Lane and take appropriate action.

- To commission a Level 2 archaeological survey to help inform future management decisions.

Improving biodiversity

- To consider small scale ride-side coppicing and selective opening up around individual specimen trees, always favouring native species, improving overall stand health, reduce the proportion of exotics (eliminating Turkey oak within 50 years) and increase light levels on the woodland floor to encourage native woodland flora to flourish and trees to regenerate naturally.

Enhancing the public's enjoyment of woodland

- To keep open the excellent network of permissive and public paths, maintain all entrance points and signage to a high standard for the benefit of pedestrian visitors to the site and to maintain safe crossing points where paths cross the watercourse.

- To undertake limited and low-key selective thinning around selected specimen trees to enhance their aesthetic impact and limited works to emphasise the Roman Road with potential interpretation.

Hence in 50 to 100 years time, the woodland will look as follows.

- The surviving trees will, on average, be larger than they are currently.

- There will be more standing deadwood and fallen timber within the body of the wood, due to the lack of thinning.

- Current and future feature trees will be more visible, particularly along the path edges but also within the body of the wood itself.

- Paths will be more open (and hence drier) with a more varied flora due to the focused coppicing and thinning works designed to increase both the wildlife value and landscape value of the woodland, through making the feature trees more visible.

- The Roman Road will be more visible through the control of trees and coppice growing on it.

- All of the Turkey oak will have been felled.