THE SACRED GROVES

January 2021 Natural Capital Department

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction and Background 1

2.0 Woodland Appraisal 3

Appendices

Appendix 1: Screenshots showing extent of Ancient Semi Natural Woodland

Appendix 2: Photographs

Appendix 3: Plan showing output of the latitude and longitude of these points

The Sacred Groves CIC Woodland Appraisal – Gigrin Prysg, Rhayader, Powys, mid Wales

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 Carter Jonas Forestry Woodland and Arboriculture Department were asked to carry out a woodland appraisal on behalf of The Sacred Groves on the property known as Gigrin Prysg, Rhayader, Powys, North Wales, to assess the woodlands suitability for purchase. The site was visited by Marc Liebrecht of Carter Jonas on the 23 December 2020.

1.2 Description and Area

1.2.1 The woodland of Gigrin Prysg comprises of 11.8 acres (4.7 hectares) of mature oak woodland and is situated half a mile to the south east of the town of Rhayader, Powys.

1.2.2 There is a stream on the northern boundary the centre of which is the boundary of the Woodlands and the boundary on the remaining three sides of the wood is denoted by a stock fence. The fence line was walked, and the stock fencing is in good order with some stretches along the roadside being recently replaced.

1.2.3 The Woodlands themselves comprise of predominantly oak high forest and some management has been carried out, but the canopy is dense, and the Woodlands would benefit from some selective filling. The map portal on the National Resource Wales website shows most of the woodland is Ancient Semi Natural Woodland the extent of which is shown in the screenshots in Appendix 1.

1.2.4 On the eastern boundary there are some open areas adjacent to the fence with occasional mature trees and some regeneration of birch and ash as well as some areas of bracken which may be preventing some regeneration in places.

1.2.5 The site itself is adjacent to the A470 road and access to the Woodlands is via a gate from the layby into the north western corner. The Woodlands themselves are on westerly facing slope. As stated earlier it is predominantly sessile oak with occasional regeneration of holly, hazel, ash and rowan on the lower slopes and birch, sycamore, and ash on the upper slopes.

1.2.6 Initial inspection of the woodland Flora community in the winter months reveals that there is a significant area of bilberry and mosses on the woodland floor and as stated in the particulars the area is low in pollution and has a significant lichen population.

1.2.7 It was noted that the fence had been recently replaced on the western boundary and the dilapidated fence that had been removed had been left on site in places.

The Sacred Groves CIC Woodland Appraisal – Gigrin Prysg, Rhayader, Powys, mid Wales Page 1

1.3 Terms of Reference

1.3.1 These are understood to be and are as detailed in the Letter of Engagement: -

➢ Visit the location and take pictures and video (if possible) of the location.

➢ Map out GPS coordinates for us to geo-map the boundaries. (Low accuracy.)

➢ A high-level description of the biodiversity of the area. This will be used to describe the woodland to our Guardians on our website.

➢ Any existing rights or claims on the land and constraints.

The Sacred Groves CIC Woodland Appraisal – Gigrin Prysg, Rhayader, Powys, mid Wales Page 2

2.0 WOODLAND APPRAISAL

2.1 Photographs

2.1.1 A range of photographs were taken and are included in Appendix 2.

2.2 Co-ordinates

2.2.1 These were mapped as best possible and a plan is included in Appendix 3 showing where these were taken and the output of the latitude and longitude of these points. Note as stated previously this was not a measured survey but used ESRI Survey 123.

2.3 Biodiversity

2.3.1 The Woodlands themselves comprise of predominantly oak high forest and some management has been carried out, but the canopy is dense, and the Woodlands would benefit from some selective thinning in places.

2.3.2 The map portal on the National Resource Wales website shows most of the woodland is Ancient Semi Natural Woodland the extent of which is shown in the screenshots in Appendix 1.

2.3.3 On the eastern boundary there are some open areas adjacent to the fence with occasional mature trees and some regeneration of birch and ash as well as some areas of bracken which may be preventing some regeneration in places.

2.3.4 As stated earlier it is predominantly sessile oak with occasional regeneration of holly hazel and rowan on the lower slopes and birch, sycamore, and ash on the upper slopes.

2.3.5 Initial inspection of the woodland Flora community in the winter months reveals that there is a significant area of bilberry and mosses on the woodland floor and as stated in the particulars the area is low in pollution and has a significant lichen population.

2.3.6 A very valuable restored woodland.

2.4 Existing rights or claims on the land and constraints

a) Access

It appears that the access to the woodland is from a gate off a layby offsite which will allow vehicular access to the north western corner across the stream. Some stone has been dropped here, but there is no infrastructure in place to enter the woodland with forestry machinery and any woodland operations would need to be carried out with small-scale forestry machinery and motor manual chainsaw operator.

It is also unclear whether the access is for use for forestry machinery/vehicles for forestry use as opposed to simple access to the Woodlands for its quiet enjoyment which should be checked in advance of any purchase as while there may be a desire to carry out non-intervention management, access may still be required for reactive works such as managing trees along the roadside.

The Sacred Groves CIC Woodland Appraisal – Gigrin Prysg, Rhayader, Powys, mid Wales Page 3

b) Extraction

The site is steep and difficult to work so it is likely that any operations would need to be carried out using a skidder winch tractor. There is a range of management prescriptions, but these depend on the objectives for the woodland and can be discussed separately.

c) Mineral Rights

The mineral rights are not included in the sale.

d) Sporting Rights

The sporting rights are included in the sale and are not let.

e) Fencing Liabilities

As stated in the particulars there is a fencing liability along the eastern Boundary and it is clear from inspection that the fence is in good order and that replacement of the fence will not be required for 10 to 15 years, but some ongoing maintenance may be required.

Note that the remains of the old fence along the roadside boundary have been left within the woodland and ideally these should be removed from site and taken to a registered tip to allow the scrap metal to be recycled. There would be a small cost involved in this and it is suggested the vendor deal with this issue.

f) Operational Access

Please also note that the current access infrastructure is not suitable for forestry machinery for woodland operations and timber extraction. Management should be intermittent and is likely to be minimum intervention, but active management may be required to maintain the ancient woodland though selective thinning for light management.

g) Tree Risk Management

The woodland is adjacent to the A470 and as such there will be a liability for management of trees adjacent to the roads, there are no current issues, but it is suggested that the roadside trees are inspected within a year of purchase and any remedial works carried out to ensure the long-term mitigation of any risks which are small trees along the roadside.

h) Ash Dieback

There is a small percentage fi Ash in the crop mainly natural regeneration which is showing signs of Chalara Fraxinea or Ash Dieback which is significant issue regarding ash nationally but due to the low proportion of ash in the crop this is not a threat to the overall woodland.

The Sacred Groves CIC Woodland Appraisal – Gigrin Prysg, Rhayader, Powys, mid Wales Page 4

APPENDIX 1

The Sacred Groves CIC Gigrin Prysg, Rhayader, Powys, mid Wales

Appendix 2a Gigrin Prysg ASNW 1

Appendix 2b Gigrin Prysg ASNW 2

APPENDIX 2

The Sacred Groves CIC Gigrin Prysg, Rhayader, Powys, mid Wales

Mature tree in more open area on the higher slopes towards the eastern Boundary

Oak High forest on the lower slopes

Areas of bracken with some regeneration on the upper slopes

Oak high forest

Southern boundary as seen on the left of the photograph

Biodiversity – Mosses in foreground, Bilberry in the background and Lichens on tree stems

Recreational bench

Stream on Northern Boundary

Current access across stream

Culvert adjacent to roadside to prevent flooding from stream by holding up flow

Access gate – woodside view

Access gate – Roadside view

A470 – view of a boundary, note boundary is the top of the verge

Parts of removed fence left on site

Ash regeneration showing signs of ash dieback

APPENDIX 3

The Sacred Groves CIC Gigrin Prysg, Rhayader, Powys, mid Wales

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