THE SITE

The planting design integrates year round screening of the conifer blocks, curved alignment of boundary belts and areas of parkland style planting with meadow seed mixes below for visual interest. The woodland will adjoin current deciduous woodland priority habitat and link to highly biodiverse wood-pasture and parkland habitat to the south west of the planting area.

TREES – TIMBER AND SPECIES

The new woodland will require a total of 28,160 trees. The main planting aims to create upland oak woodland habitat which is the predominant ancient woodland type across Cornwall. This is dominated by sessile oak with downey birch. Additional species including sycamore, alder and beech have been included to provide shelter duing establishment. Minor species and many native shrubs have been included for biodiversity and resiliance.

COMMUNITIES. PEOPLE AND ACCESS

There is a public footpath along the southern boundary of the site and another running south to north through the centre. These are well used routes linking Chysauster ancient village and other local monuments. The paths will form permanent rides through the woodland with woodland edge habitat and additional amenity planting.

CARBON

Most of the woodland will consist of native broadleaf species which will sequester carbon for a long period. Growth rates in west Cornwall are high due to the long growing season and warm moist climate. The site is currently improved agricultural land which will accumulate additional volumes of carbon over time.

The Grown in Britain Canopy Metrics ensure that all of our projects are independently audited, designed and delivered to exemplary standards.

BIODIVERSITY & ECOSYSTEMS

The new woodland will link existing woodlands creating an extensive habitat area in part of Cornwall which has very low woodland cover. The new woodland will have open glades and extensive edge habitat to support birds and mammals.

LANDSCAPE

The planting has been restricted to the lower ground where it does not impact the open moorland. Photo montages have been produced to assess visual impacts from key points such as Chysauster. Open spaces have been left within the woodland to respect rights of way , existing hedges and historical boundaries which are no longer present. Only a small number of evergreen species have been included within the planting mix for shelter purposes.

WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY

The site drains to a stream to the east which in turn runs for approximately 4 km to Mounts Bay. Woodland planting will reduce the peak flow during the winter and retain moisture during the spring. This will improve water quality and improve flow levels within the stream.

SOILS

Soils are free draining loams with generally low fertility. The site has been intensively farmed for many years, so the soils will benefit from broadleaf woodland cover. The trees will also slow the rate of drainage from the site, further improving soil quality over time.

AIR QUALITY

Air quality at Busulval is already very good due to its proximity to the sea. Improvements from tree planting are unlikely to be significant here.