In this specific area of the country where we live, vulnerable spruce trees over 3 metres tall are required to be felled and the timber removed as a precaution. One very noticeable area where this has happened is on the banks of our bridge over the A14 near Blackthorpe Barn. There were many sick spruce trees and some dead trees on the bridge banks. These have all been removed. The good news is that amongst them were a lot of oak, sycamore, birch, beech and yew trees which have all been left. The initial impact of this action is quite dramatic but from experience we have found that the landscape quickly recovers and the newly exposed oak, sycamore, yew, beech and birch trees will grow better as a result of the lack of competition. We have also replanted these areas with additional native broadleaf trees and shrubs.
This is not work that we would have chosen to undertake in this way. We are being driven by the Forestry Commission. On the positive side, in the long run it will improve the landscape, as we are taking out more conifers and replacing them with native broadleaved species.
