Work will begin next week (week commencing 14th March) and the road lane closure will be from the 21st March and for one week only if the work runs on time. The A49 north and south bound will still both be open, with just a single land closed for the period.
Large scale tree felling will be taking place along the A49 at Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum over the next few weeks. This will require traffic management as the works will be taking place adjacent to the road to the north of the entrance to Queenswood.
The felling will help to create a new woodland edge habitat to improve wildlife connectivity along the road corridor. The work will remove diseased ash and other trees that are at risk of falling into the road. Ash is the dominant species of tree in this part of the wood and many of them are showing signs of dieback due to the fungal disease known as chalara. This causes the trees to rot from the inside and become very unstable. Other trees nearby will also have to be felled because if left standing they will be more exposed to strong winds once the ash have gone.
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, who are carrying out the work, carry out regular surveys of the woods to monitor tree safety and infectious diseases and identified the dieback in the trees a number of years ago. It is now felt that the degree of dieback is sufficiently severe that the trees need to be felled before they become dangerous.
Esther Clarke, Reserves Team Manager for the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, says that “surveys have been carried out to identify any trees with potential bat roosts and these will be left or taken down in a controlled way so as to avoid any disturbance to bats. Officers from The Trust will be on hand to check for bats and dormice while the work is taking place and the contractors have been fully briefed regarding protecting wildlife and minimising disturbance.” She explained that the work ideally would have taken place earlier in the winter but delays due to the recent storms and getting permissions for the traffic management has meant that the work is likely to extend into the bird nesting season. Extra care is therefore being taken to check for nests and special permissions have been sought from Natural England for the felling.
Once the felling has taken place the woodland will be allowed to regenerate naturally. The removal of the trees will allow more light onto the woodland floor which will encourage a flush of woodland flowers and shrubby undergrowth over the next few years. This will be ideal habitat for birds, butterflies and small mammals, such as dormice. Gradually the healthy trees will grow back and new saplings will germinate and replace the diseased ash trees. The woodland can then be managed in such a way that the road is not at risk from falling trees by maintaining a wider verge of shrubs, grasses and flowers and more frequent coppicing of trees.
More work is due to take place later in the year in the southern part of the wood adjacent to the main trunk road.
Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum
Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum is a popular woodland park in the centre of the county and one of its most visited attractions. Prominently located on the A49 between Hereford and Leominster, the site includes an arboretum, a 47-acre tree collection with over 1,200 rare and exotic trees from all over the world, and 123 acres of semi-natural ancient woodland which are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Local Nature Reserve (LNR).
A number of trails run through the site including accessible paths on easy terrain, more challenging, longer trails and a Gruffalo sculpture trail. Other facilities include a visitor centre and gift shop, woodland playground, pay and display car park, picnic area with barbeques and pizza oven and toilets. There is also an independently run café on site. A full programme of events and activities runs throughout the year and the engagement team also caters for school visits and birthday parties.
Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum is managed by the partnership of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and New Leaf Sustainable Development Ltd. It is additionally supported by the Queenswood Coronation Fund, who raise funds for the management of the Arboretum.
www.queenswoodandbodenhamlake.org
