Communications following Meeting on 22nd June 2023 with Adam McLean of Gresham House, organised by Maurice Corry.
4th July 2023. Email from Mike Page, Scottish Woodlands Agent and Forest Manager for Gresham House, informing us that a PPG grant has been applied for and asking to start bringing capping stones for the new road being built to link Highlandman with the proposed woodland at Letrault and Stuckenduff.
You can read our reply sent on July 9th. The main force of our letter was to ask him to honour the committment made by Scottish Woodlsands to hold a meeting to infom the community before the next phase of haulage began.
On July 17th , Mike Page replied, ignoring our request for a meeting and stating the amount of stone he wished to transport and the size of the next woodland harvest.
On July 18th, we responded thus.
On 27th July, Adam McLean phoned John Mcgall to argue the case for the delivery of topping stone and the felling of at least the diseased larch.
A couple of hours later Mike Page sent an email offering dates for consultation meetings and asking that we respond to his intention to start the transportation of capping stones on 15th August.
Felling in Highlandman and Torr Forest.
Updated June 30th 2023.
Adam McLean, employee of Gresham House Sustainable Forest and
Energy LP supplied this information and Map.
Adam is Asset Manager for Gresham House responsible for Operational Management across several forest portfolios including those at the back of Rhu.
To date one timber harvesting operation has taken place in the forest which yielded about 28,500 tonnes of timber (over 1000 lorry loads) all of which came down Station and Pier Roads over a period of about 1.5 years. This operation was managed by Ridings sawmill at Cardross using an Argyll based timber transport business.
- Over the next 15 years it is estimated a further 60,000 tonnes of timber will be harvested within the forest. All areas of harvested timber will be replanted so we can expect ongoing timber harvesting but with gaps in production as we wait for timber to mature. The next window of harvesting after the current mature crops have been felled is likely to be between 2055 and 2075 and is expected to include timber produced at Letrault and Stuckenduff (a new woodland creation adjacent to Highlandman).
This map shows the revised harvesting phases.
Revised Phases of Timber Harvesting from H&T Larch Disease in Highlandman and Torr Forests
- Several areas in H&T have larch trees infected with Ramorum disease and these are currently under a Statutory Public Heath Notice (SPHN). These, as well as wind damaged trees will need to be harvested urgently. It is estimated this will be about 12,000 tonnes of timber or 480 lorry loads in and out of the forest. It is expected that this will commence later in the summer 2023 and continue until autumn 2023. The infected larch trees are shaded pink in the sub compartments map.
- The proposed woodlands for Letrault and Stuckenduff require a forest road with an estimated 2000 tonnes of stone brought in from local quarries. This is estimated to be some 80-100 loads in and out of the forest.
- There will also be a limited numbers of machine and lorry movements related to the planting in Letrault and Stuckenduff, once the road is completed.
- Ongoing there will also be lorries related to the ongoing maintenance of the forests.
Pink areas show location of diseased larch Updated September 29th 2021
New TTMP Published 27th Feb 2019
ARM . The Agreed Route Map for timber haulage. This map has been developed by the timber transport groups at local authority level. The extraction route shown in the map below is not included.
Confor: Confederation of Forestry Industries Guidance Note
The harvesting of timber from the woods behind Rhu started in Spring 2018. The original schedule below, provided before extraction started is not correct and will be updated when we have the information.
The Contractor, Scottish Woodland Ltd, is eager to minimise the disruption to the community. However the proposed extraction routes are down Station Road and Pier Road, so there will be disruption.
This map shows the extraction route.
The map shows the areas for the four felling Phases : This was Revised in June 2023.
Phase 1 - 2015-2019
Phase 2 - 2020-2024
Phase 3 - 2025- 2029
Phase 4 - 2030 - 2034
Note added 29/09/2021.
The time slots for phases 3, 4 and 5 are being revised.
The new dates are posted above
First phase negotiations:
TTMP1-produced in October 2017,
TTPM2- produced and operated from November 2018, but not made public. The only change is that the exclusion times have been reduced by half an hour in the morning to 8.45 to 9.15 and shunted in the afternoon to 14.45 t0 15.45.
Meeting Note: Fiona Baker and Peter Knox met with team concerned with the extraction on 23 Jan 2019.
31st January 2019: Letter sent to A&B requesting exclusion times of 8.00 to 9.00 and 15.00 to 16.00. The next meeting of the team involved with the extraction with A&B is on February 11th.
27th February 2019 Revised TTMP published. The above exclusion times are included, but the hauling now starts at 6am instead of 7am in the previous TTMP.
