WPG Management Plan Ranscombe Farm Reserve Date (from/to) 2012 - 2032 Date of last review August 2012 [UKWAS 2.1.3] Owner/tenant Plantlife Agent/contact Ben Sweeney (Ranscombe Farm Reserve Warden) Ranscombe Farm Reserve Project Office, Unit 37, Medway Space Business Centre, Knight Road, Strood, Kent, ME2 2BF Signed declaration of tenure rights and agreements to public availability of the plan [UKWAS 1.1.3/1.1.5/2.1.2] 1 Background information 1.1 Location Nearest town, village or feature Cuxton / Strood Grid reference TQ 705680 Total area (ha) 129.66 1.2 Description of the woodland(s) in the landscape The woodland is a very prominent feature within the landscape of the North Downs in this part of Kent, overlooking the Medway Valley and settlements below. It fits a very typical pattern found elsewhere along the Downs, that of large dense coppice woodlands on the deeper sand and clay soils on the ridge tops, and smaller shaws comprising mixed woodland and scrub on the south facing chalk slopes. ______________________________________________________________________ WPG MPTemplate V3.1 issued 11.06.22 | Grants & Regulations | 1 Woodland Management Plan 1.3 History of Management The ancient woodlands on the site appear to have been actively coppiced for many years. Great Wood (dominating the northern half of the site), along with Magpie Shaw, Head Barn Wood and Merrals Shaw, were almost entirely replanted with Sweet Chestnut at some time in the past, perhaps around the end of the 1700s, and have undoubtedly been managed as coppice since that time. Great Wood once formed part of the Cobham Hall Estate, and the western part (Birch Wood) was once included within the landscaped park; most of the remaining large parkland trees in this area were probably felled and removed in the 1960s immediately prior to the land being sold. Some 7 hectares of the former parkland in Birch Wood was replanted with Pine in the 1960s, and again cleared and planted in 1992 with a mixture of broadleaves, including a high proportion of Beech. Aside from two small ancient woodland shaws, the majority of Mill Hill in the south of the site was relatively open until the early part of the 19th century. Since then, widespread planting of Beech and scrubbing over of abandoned land lead to almost complete woodland cover by the 1950s. The 1960s saw planting of Corsican Pine on Mill Hill, while further, often inappropriate planting took place following the 1987 storm in which large numbers of Beech were lost. Gaps created by the latter also resulted in large parts of the woodland becoming dominated by Sycamore. The site was bought by Blue Circle Cement Industries in the 1960s, and throughout the following decades coppicing continued, a pheasant shoot was run, and game-keepers carried out some limited mowing of the rides and discouraged access outside of Public Rights of Way. The wider Cobham Woods SSSI, including Great Wood was subject to widespread vandalism and abuse throughout the 1980s and 90s, leading to the removal of over 100 dumped cars in 2003 following security improvements around the boundaries. The last coppicing to be undertaken prior to the sale of land to Medway Council and Plantlife was in 1999. By 2005 the woodlands were seriously neglected; coppice was very overstood in places (some Chestnut stands being 30 years old), what few rides there were had become very overgrown and shaded, and abundant debris had accumulated. Management post-2005 The woodland became certified under UKWAS as part of a group scheme with Fountains Forestry in 2007, and the first 5- year EWGS programme was undertaken between 2007-12. Throughout this time an average of 5 hectares coppice has been harvested annually, with a focus on the oldest stands, and over 10 ha rides and glades created since 2005. In addition, within the SSSI on Mill Hill, Sycamo re and Corsican Pine have been removed from an area totalling around 2.5 ha, with the intention of being re-colonised by with native species by natural regeneration. Commercial coppicing has been undertaken by one local forestry company since 2007. 20 ha of the Chestnut coppice harvested over this period has been aged between 26-35 years at the time of cutting. This overstood coppice has been suitable for the post-and-rail fencing market, providing a modest return. The 5 ha of mixed broadleaf coppice (mainly Ash) harvested over this time has similarly been overstood coppice marketable as logwood. Recently along a number of rides, stumps within ride scallops have been physically removed using a large tracked mulcher. The objective over the last five years has been to balance the cost of ride widening, along with tree safety and other maintenance activities, with the income generated from coppicing and EWGS grant payments, which in general has worked adequately. Ride creation has been largely front-ended, with the vast majority work to be completed in Autumn 2012. This has been partly due to a preference for maximising the biodiversity benefits early on, and also to get the work done while it was known that funds were available. ______________________________________________________________________ WPG MPTemplate V3.1 issued 11.06.22 | Grants & Regulations | 2 Woodland Management Plan As part the Reserve’s Heritage Lottery Fund Grant awarded in 2010, £90k was provided to upgrade, in 2011, farm tracks within the middle of the Reserve that have vastly improved access for both day-to-day woodland management and extraction and storage of harvested timber. The majority of maintenance work is undertaken in-house with invaluable assistance from the regular Reserve volunteer team, who carry out tasks on a weekly basis, predominantly within the woodlands. The Cuxton Countryside Group have also been actively coppicing Hazel within Mill Hill (North and South) since the early 2000s. 2 Woodland Information 2.1 Areas and features Designated Areas Map In Woodland Adjacent to No. woodland Special areas for conservation (SACs) Special Protection Areas (SPAs) Ramsar Sites (see note on Guidance) National Nature Reserves (NNRs) Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) 1 Yes Yes Other designations (e.g. National Park (NP) / World Heritage Site) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) 1 Yes Yes Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) TPO / Conservation Area (CA) 1 Yes Details All woodland and farmland on the Ranscombe Farm Reserve is incorporated within the Kent Downs AONB. 98.99 ha of the woodland is part of the wider Cobham Woods SSSI, which also incorporates a 4 ha field on the Reserve supporting rare arable plants. Mill Hill and approximately half of Great Wood is covered by Medway Council and Gravesham Borough Council TPOs. Rare and important species Map In Woodland Adjacent to No. woodland Red Data Book or BAP species Yes Yes Rare, threatened, EPS or SAP species Yes Yes Details Please see attached Habitats Map In Woodland Adjacent to No. woodland Ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW) 3 Yes ______________________________________________________________________ WPG MPTemplate V3.1 issued 11.06.22 | Grants & Regulations | 3 Woodland Management Plan Other semi-natural woodland 3 Yes Plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) 3 Yes Semi-natural features in PAWS 3 Yes Woodland margins and hedges Yes Yes Veteran and other notable trees 6 Yes Breeding sites Habitats of notable species Yes Yes Unimproved grasslands 6 Yes Yes Rides and open ground 7 Yes Valuable wildlife communities Yes Yes Feeding area Lowland heath Peatlands Others Details The northern half of the Reserve is dominated by the 99 ha ASNW collectively known as Great Wood (cpt. 3), which is made up primarily of Chestnut coppice – largely in densely planted, pure stands. The Chestnut coppice is well established and generally precludes any self-sown native regeneration within coupes. But along ride and woodland edges, it is possible to identify variations on NVC W10, dependent on the underlying geology. The sand and gravel ridge which dominates the north and west of Great Wood gives rise to more acid loving tree species including Sessile Oak, Holly, and Birch, plus Rowan. At the eastern end and southern edge of Great Wood where the soils are progressively more alkaline (over clay-with-flints and chalk), Ash, Field Maple and Hazel are frequent (very occasionally as coppice trees amongst the Chestnut) and Pedunculate Oak standards. Hornbeam occurs as a sometimes small but generally consistent component across the whole of Great Wood, as pollards and occasionally as coppice, but regenerates readily wherever it is given the opportunity. Hawthorn and Goat Willow are also key colonisers of edges and rides across the board. Recent Oak regeneration is very limited and concentrated in just two areas: the southern edge of Stogarts & Drapers Wood, and the Birch Wood plantation (below). Within Birch Wood (part of Great Wood) is a 6 ha Mixed Broadleaved PAWS, established in 1992, but not subsequently managed. The dominant planted species is Beech, followed in turn by Chestnut (there are also a number of viable, older Chestnut coppice stools), with Oak, Ash, Wild Cherry, Hornbeam and Yew also occurring in smaller quantities. The most frequent species however is Birch, which has established itself amongst the plantation; self-sown Hawthorn, Hornbeam, Holly and Sessile Oak have also exploited gaps in the canopy and along ride edges. Four 30x30m glades were created in 2011-12, along with widening of the central ride. A number of formerly isolated smaller woodlands at the eastern end of the Reserve (Magpie Shaw – cpt.7, Head Barn Wood – cpt.6, and Quarry Shaw – cpt.8) are now connected to both Great Wood and Merrals Shaw – cpt.4 by 5.7 ha Mixed Broadleaved plantations established no more than ten years ago as part of mitigation for construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.