January date set for latest woodland management works

The next round of woodland management works in Redditch will see deteriorating poplar trees removed along sections of Icknield Street Drive this month (January).

The essential safety works have been commissioned by Redditch Borough Council to address the potential risk associated with the condition of the poplars and their proximity to the road and properties between Green Sward Lane and the Warwick Highway.

The poplars there are reaching the end of their natural life, with some also deteriorating faster owing to pest damage, and they have also outgrown their original planting positions to cause a nuisance to local residents.

Other species there are not being removed, to minimise the impact on the screening value provided by the tree lines. The woodland will then be regenerated more naturally.

It’s the latest in an ongoing series of such works across Redditch, where the borough council manages 168 hectares of woodland to a management plan established in 1995. That identified 30 sites for action and continues today – including aiming to be self-funding by using Forestry Commission grants and any proceeds from the sale of timber to reduce the impact on Council Tax.  

Redditch Borough Council’s portfolio holder for Environmental Services, Cllr Brandon Clayton, said: “Many people in Redditch will be used to this by now, as we’ve been having to do it for years, but it’s still important to explain why. Where we have the mass-planted woodlands, where so many of the trees that help make Redditch so green were planted together when the new town was built, we’re now, decades later, having to go round systematically dealing with the fact that they all start to die off together.

“The driving factor is safety but it’s not just that, it’s part of a long-term strategy by the council to provide Redditch with more naturally-regenerating woodlands, which are then better able to remain sustainable for ever. Thank you for your patience during these latest works.”

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Matt Dormer, added: “Redditch is an incredibly green space and that’s why it has long been important to this council to have sustainable long-term strategies in place to ensure it stays that way, both now and in the future.”

The substantial works on Icknield Street Drive have been licensed by the Forestry Commission and will take place between Monday January 8 and Friday January 26. Some temporary traffic lights will be in place on the road during that period for safety.