"We own over 90 hectares of woodlands many of which have had little management in recent years. This means that they are not as healthy or as accessible as they could be. We are now working in partnership with the Forestry Commission to revitalise them for the people that use them and to protect wildlife" More info at http://www.reading.gov.uk/council/consultations/openconsultations/woodlandsproject/
Berkshire LNP's comments:
The Berkshire LNP was glad to hear of plans to better manage Reading’s woodlands for wildlife and people.
We encourage consideration of the contribution this project will make towards Berkshire’s biodiversity strategy (and in turn the national objectives). Several of the woodlands are within the ‘West Reading Woodlands and LNRs’ Biodiversity Opportunity Area (BOA), and as such have been identified as key areas of opportunity for the creation of a functioning ecological network across Berkshire.
The inclusion of this information in the management plans of the woodlands will help ensure that there is collaboration with the owners of the neighbouring woodland sites, and that the achievements of this project are effectively recorded (against county and national targets), so as to better inform future management of the counties ecological networks.
Accordingly the BOAs may be a tool to help the council identify if any other woodland under their ownership should have a similar management plan.
For any queries or questions on the biodiversity strategy, or BOA, please contact the Berkshire Local Nature Partnership.