National Trust plan to fell 48 acres of trees at Blakeshall Common, Kinver, rests with Forestry Commission

The National Trust has applied for permission to fell a conifer woodland at Blakeshall Common, on the Worcestershire side of Kinver Edge, as part of its conservation plans to create and safeguard priority habitats.

The plan, however, has received mixed responses - with some countryside lovers concerned about the loss of trees.

Sue Groom, a regular Kinver Edge visitor, is among those who want to see the woodland preserved.

In a post on Facebook, urging people to have their say in a public consultation, she said: "48 acres of trees would be affected and 85 per cent of the trees in this area would be cut down.

"Once these mature trees have been destroyed and the area has been subjected to deforestation they will not be replaced. Heathland will be created and fenced and longhorn cows will graze there from March to November."

Sue, who started a petition in 2021 on Change.org (Stop deforestation by the National Trust) which garnered  3,676 signatures, urged visitors to the beauty spot to view the plans on the National Trust website and at Kinver Library and to have their say before the consultation ends.

She told the Express & Star: "There's a real strength of feeling about it from people who live and work here. It's going to be devastating if it happens."

The National Trust has said Blakeshall Common was formerly lowland heath, a ‘priority habitat’ which is fast disappearing from the British countryside, although Sue - who has researched the history of the area - disputes this and claims it "was never heathland".

To her the trees at Blakeshall Common provided a huge sense of peace during the Covid-19 lockdown and she added: "It's a beautiful area."

A consultation was held in 2021 and recently public notice was published confirming the National Trust has submitted an application to the Forestry Commission for permission to fell the conifer plantation while retaining 15 per cent tree cover.

If approved, the trust and Forestry Commission will work together on the project to create the lowland heath habitat to provide a home for wildlife species including bats, ground nesting birds, butterflies, reptiles and insects.

Ewan Chapman, countryside manager for Kinver Edge, said lowland heath was once a widespread feature of the Midlands' landscape but it is now "fading fast, along with the wildlife which call it home".

He added: “The landscape at Kinver Edge is historically, geographically and ecologically suited to support lowland heath, with the conifer plantation at Blakeshall Common planted as a timber crop in the 1940s, the trees now overdue harvesting. We will be retaining the majority of native trees, along with some of the Scots Pine, to create a mosaic of habitats from bare earth and acid grassland through to heather, gorse, and scrub.

“Restoring the heathland, as part of the National Trust’s ‘Sandscapes’ project, will aid nature recovery, improve biodiversity and support many species which are in decline."

The trust said it has received support from other conservation organisations for the work including the RSPB, Natural England and local Wildlife Trusts.

A spokesperson for Forestry Commission said: "We are currently considering the National Trust's application at Kinver Edge and Blakeshall Common."

An environmental statement detailing the proposal and its potential impacts can be found online at https://publicnoticeportal.uk/ (Kinver Edge and Blakeshall Common, Heathland Restoration Environmental Statement).

Comments can be made by writing to Forestry Commission England, Operational Delivery Team, Bullers Hill Hub, Kennford, Exeter, EX6 7XR or by emailing adminhub.bullershill@forestrycommission.gov.uk by May 14.