Timber harvesting in Sheffield City Council’s Burbage Valley Woodland includes the use of a helicopter to extract timber.
Straddling The Burbage Brook, which is included in the Geological Conservation Review (GCR) database, plans for timber extraction concluded that creation of a bridging point over the watercourse would create unacceptable risk to the valley and water quality. Once it is felled, a helicopter is used to move the timber from one side of the valley to a landing site from where it can be transported.
Influenced by a number of Statutory Designations (e.g. Peak District National Park,Scheduled Ancient Monument), project planning for Burbage included extensive stakeholder consultation, and production of a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment. Restoration of the site to moorland, native oakwood and wet woodland will result in a 14 hectare increase in woodland area and immeasurable biodiversity improvements.
Timber extracted from the site is FSC certified through the UK Forest Certification Group (UKFCG) which includes Sheffield City Council as one of its members. Feedback from September's FSC on-site audit report highlighted the high level of knowledge demonstrated by UKFCG, the quality of project planning by individual members, and the clarity of the project.
Sheffield boasts some of the finest woodlands and countryside in Britain with a third of the city lying in the Peak District National Park. Sheffield has more woodland cover (over 10%) than any other city in the country. Sheffield City Council Woodlands, extending to over 1,500 hectares, is one of UKFCG’s largest Group Members. With over 160 publicly accessible woodlands throughout Sheffield which are managed for people to enjoy and wildlife to thrive, FSC Certification provides Timber Marketing advantages and independent verification of the management of Social and Biodiversity values. Sheffield City Council’s Woodlands team, lead by Dave Aspinall, also do their best to make sure the woodlands are safe, accessible, fun places to explore, and that archaeology hidden within them is preserved.
UKFCG (FSC-C112410) is an independent FSC certified Group Scheme consisting of over 40 members with forest area ownership totalling over 25,000 hectares and annual FSC certified timber harvesting well over 100,000 tonnes. The group now has members from the Scottish Highlands through to Kent and Cornwall including large commercial forests, Local Authorities, Wildlife Trusts, private landowners, traditional estates and forest management companies.