New Timber Building Ashopton Sawmill,

Design and Access Statement

Ashopton Sawmill is linked to the surrounding commercial woodland activity and is an essential ‘working hub’ for the estates owned and managed by both Severn Trent Water and the other partnership agencies including the National Park Authority, National Trust and Forestry Commission. A rejuvenated sawmill and associated buildings would be much more suited to delivering local support services facilitating both the smooth running of the surrounding woodland estate and supporting local partnership organisations.

Aim This project aims to renew existing building infrastructure within the Ashopton Sawmill site to kick start regeneration of Ashopton Sawmill as a working site where local timber is processed and local craftspeople are involved in adding value to an underused timber resource that is in short supply within the Peak District National Park.

Forestry Industry Background Forestry and related industries, have been in decline throughout the U.K. for the last 20 years, and many small commercial sawmills have had to close because of an inability to compete with cheaper imported timber. This has led to a radical rethink in the way we value forests and forest produce in this country. The Forestry Commission’s ‘English Forestry Strategy’ along with the national ‘Strategy for Sustainable Development’, advocates a radical rethink in the approach taken to rural industries such as forestry and agriculture.

Community Forestry, along with Sustainable Woodland Management, are now firmly on the national agenda of agencies such as DEFRA, Natural and the Forestry Commission. Local projects that can link the many environmental and social benefits of forestry with the economics in an integrated and sustainable way are the way forward for this sector.

Building Design Brief

Objective To build a new Timber Frame building at the Ashopton Sawmill on the site of a previous derelict timber building of the same footprint and location with the following design criteria:

- Sustainable building design, materials and components. - Support local craftspeople and forestry - Realise the long term objectives of the Sawmill/Forestry site

Sustainable Building Design, Materials and Components

Traditional Timber Frame The proposal is to build a traditional timber frame building; framed and clad in green FSC Larch and roofed in FSC Red Cedar both sourced from Severn Trent Water estate in the Upper Derwent Valley and milled onsite. This method of construction has been chosen for several reasons that relate to the sustainability and visual impact of the building.

- Locally sourced Timber has the lowest carbon footprint of any building material due to minimal transportation, processing and low embodied energy as well as timber being a natural carbon sink. The harvesting of the timbers will be part of a selective thinning process in the woodland, already approved through the 20 year Forest Plan. The timber will have been transported less than 5 miles from source to construction area. - Traditional timber frames have a potential lifespan of several hundred years drawing on time tested techniques and designs. - Larch cladding and Red Cedar roof shingles are weather and insect resistant, they require no chemical treatments and naturally weather to a neutral silver grey colour. - All the wood based elements of the building which will compose the vast majority of materials are fully biodegradable and free of toxic chemical additives.

FSC Cedar Shingles FSC Larch Cladding

Lighting Maximum use will be made of natural lighting. Energy efficient glazing and Velux roof lights on both south and north facing roof aspects will optimise the lighting levels within the internal working environment reducing the need for high levels of artificial electrical lighting and thereby lowering energy bills. All electrical lighting fixtures will use energy efficient bulbs as standard.

Heating Heating will be provided by wood burning stoves. The wood fuel is a waste- product of the sawmill providing a carbon neutral heating source. The workshop and flexible space will be well insulated with natural wood fibre based insulation from FSC sources. 5 times less energy is required to make wood fibre board insulation compared to petroleum based rigid foam insulation of comparable u-value. This product has the added advantage of increased thermal mass compared to man-made rigid insulation materials, this significantly reduces internal building temperatures in the summer months. Another benefit of wood fibre insulation is the efficiency as sound insulation to ameliorate the noise from any machinery operating within the building.

Local Craftspeople and Forestry The building is to be constructed by local Timber Frame and Eco Building company Hector & Cedric who hold the Peak District Environmental Quality Mark.

Local Contractors: Severn Trent Water utilises many local contractors to deliver its commitments in both the Upper Derwent Valley and Ashopton Sawmill. The rebuilding works are being undertaken using local peak district contractors to fell the trees, operate the sawmill and undertake the specialist timber frame contract. A total of 4 local companies employing over 10 people are involved in the proposed works. The new facilities will provide better working facilities for these local contractors who undertake work on behalf of Severn Trent Water.

Visual Impact The development is barely visible from the surrounding area. There are mature trees screening most of the existing buildings at Ashopton Sawmill. The new development is located at the rear of the yard and can only be seen upon entering the private property and walking to the rear of the yard. The nearby access road leading to Ashopton sawmill is a private road owned by Severn Trent Water. The careful choice of building materials i.e. locally grown timber for the frame, cladding and roofing is designed to fit into the woodland setting and over a relatively short time scale will weather to a neutral silver grey colour timber.

Woodland surrounding the development All the woodland immediately surrounding the proposed development forms part of the approved 20 year Forest Plan for the Upper Derwent Valley. Landscape and visual amenity are always taken into consideration during management of the tree stock within the estate. The trees within the immediate vicinity of Ashopton Sawmill provide valuable screening and biodiversity benefits to the area. No trees are within 15 metres of the development footprint so no protection will be necessary during the build. The long term screening benefits of these trees will be maintained through long term retention as already stated in the 20 year Forest Plan, with additional planting undertaken as necessary to maintain this visual barrier between the buildings at Ashopton sawmill and the surrounding area.

Long Term Site Objectives:

• To rejuvenate Ashopton sawmill to maximise potential for supplying local sustainable woodland produce thus adding value to the existing timber resource within the Upper Derwent Valley and facilitating sustainable woodland management. • To promote the use of locally produced woodland products both within the company, external partnerships and the local geographic area. • To provide support for sustainable wood based businesses. • To provide innovative and enjoyable educational events relating to the sustainable use of woodlands. • To support community based initiatives that relate to woodlands, particularly within partnership organisations. • To provide a spring board for new woodland based initiatives, such as training and skills courses; workshops; heritage; biodiversity; health and sustainable fuel projects, events ,education and recreation.

History and current management of the Ashopton Sawmill site Severn Trent Water is the site owner of Ashopton Sawmill. Historically the site housed the 20 strong, in-house forestry estate team. The sawmill used to provide much of the estate fencing and produce. The outsourcing of the estate work along with the economics of timber materials, led to an effective mothballing of the sawmill since the dispersal of the forestry team. In recent years the renovation of the sawmill and existing buildings means that the sawmill has been brought back into use as a valuable tool for adding value to estate timber through the production of a limited range of timber products eg, benches, bird boxes, green structural timber for community projects, it Ecclesall Woods Gallery, bridges and other timber structures. Although no longer commercially viable as a source of fencing materials etc, the sawmill itself is still in excellent working order and provides a local processing facility for estate grown FSC certified timber and a very low carbon footprint for the timber goods being produced within the Upper Derwent valley. Modern day Health and Safety standards are proving difficult to meet within the existing building infrastructure so major renovation / rebuilding works are necessary.

The Upper Derwent Valley Partnership The UDV partnership involving the PDNPA, the National Trust, Forestry Commission, County Council, parish councils support the complex multipurpose and often multi-agency management approach required in the valley, with sustainable woodland and landscape management being a key aspect of that role. The member organisations are all committed to and support changes that are likely to help woodlands give the widest possible benefits and contribution locally and regionally.

Biodiversity:

Woodland management : All tree felling undertaken in the Upper Derwent Valley is approved by the Forestry Commission and complies with a 20 year Forest Plan. All forestry works are independently monitored annually under the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme to ensure compliance with sustainable woodland management policies and targets. Felling is carefully timed so that there is no conflict with nesting season as conservation landscape and recreation are as important considerations as timber production. The careful felling programme brings biodiversity benefits as the age structure of the woodland is improved and woodland regeneration results from improved light levels reaching the forest floor.

Bird and bat boxes including kestrel boxes and hedgehog hibernaculum, are some of the key products which are supplied from Ashopton Sawmill to many agencies including Severn Trent Water Forestry Commission, Wildlife Trusts and PDNPA. These are made at Ashopton sawmill using home grown FSC certified timber harvested as part of a sustainable woodland management programme. The new workshop area included as part of the proposed building will enable the production of these items to be more efficient and provide better working conditions.

Bird and bat boxes including one for barn owls will also be installed as part of the new building to complement the existing bird, bat and owl boxes already installed around the vicinity of the proposed development. The boxes are regularly monitored by a member of Sorby Breck Ringing Group.

Access The building is designed on one storey with no level changes inside the building. The external area is existing hard standing. Ramps into the doorways will facilitate access for less able bodied people and machinery.