SCOTTISH WOODLANDS NEWSLETTER AUTUMN … 2011.pdf · SCOTTISH WOODLANDS NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2011...

Also inside:Timber Market Update

Grant Package for Central ScotlandInvesting in Forestry and Land

Rural Wildfire Groups& more

The Way Forward“opportunity ahead for the forestry and land-owningsector” - Colin Mann, Managing Director

S C O T T I S H W O O D L A N D S N E W S L E T T E R A U T U M N 2 0 1 1

Woodlands’View

SW Newsletter_Layout 1 25/10/2011 15:54

Those of us running businesses at themoment have experienced one of themore violent financial storms possiblewhich has been interesting to studybut, of course, very unsettling at thesame time. Just when we thought wewere heading into clearer air, with theFTSE briefly breaking through the 6000level, along came the USA publicborrowing debacle and the deepeningconcern over sovereign debt within theEU. All of this, naturally, conspires tobring back the unpleasant memories of2008/9. Here we go again, one thinks!

However, year-end landmarks alwaysmake one think both about thepreceding year just gone and the newone to come. Scottish Woodlands’financial year ended on 30 Septemberand, of course, we have been assessingour view upon trading conditions bothfrom a corporate perspective and that ofour clients’. Reflecting on our positionexactly 12 months ago, are we (ourindustry) now more optimistic than wewere then?

All factors considered, I think the answerto this question is “yes”. The timbermarkets through 2010/11 have beenstrong and we have been able to make

very good returns for our clients. Newwoodland creation activity, after a slowSRDP start up is now increasing, and wehave been privileged to carry out someof the largest planting schemes inScotland during the past year.Importantly, the outlook on our newplanting programme for 2011/12 is alsogood. At the same time, demand for ourforestry investment services is runninghigh and our Utilities division has gainedsignificant new contract work relative tothe year before.

So, all of this looks good, except whenyou consider the downside potentialwhich could result from financialinstability in Europe and the USA. Howworried should we be about these risks?Well, provided sterling remains close toits current position against the Euro andprovided UK interest rates remain low,UK timber markets should remainbuoyant. However, looking ahead, thereis still uncertainty so my conclusion is“make hay whilst the sun shines”.

Consumer confidence definitely remainsfragile and even minimal negative mediacoverage can undermine thatconfidence, with the effect of curtailingconsumer spending. The sawmilling

trade is finding this to be the case as itdoes not take much to destabiliseforward order books. This all means thatprovided we can maintain current timberprices, or higher, it makes sense topress on with felling programmes andcontinue to bring timber onto the market.Demand and marketing opportunitieshave been good but the market requiresconstant monitoring.

Regarding new woodland creation,yes, we certainly need to see SRDP(in Scotland), forestry’s main grant aidmechanism, streamlined and mademuch more user friendly, but the actualgrant rates and level of financialincentive available today present areal opportunity for both indigenouslandowners and investors alike. Thisrequires farmers and estate ownersto contact us if they wish to considerconverting land to forestry. For investors,it requires those interested to makecontact with us as soon as possiblebecause acquiring suitable land takestime due to a relatively restricted supply.So, the message to you must be to takeadvantage of both a strong market andincentives whilst they are available.

2

Colin MannManaging DirectorTelephone: 0131 451 5154

[email protected]

Foreword

The way forward is to “make hay whilst the sun shines”advises Colin Mann, Managing Director

The past 3 years, since the start of the global financial crisis in 2008,have been a period of unprecedented financial turmoil, the like ofwhich is not always experienced in the course of a working lifetime.

Therefore, unless the macro economicclimate conspires against us, there is a lotof opportunity ahead for the forestry andland-owning sector. Our thinking shouldnot be deflected by the wider economicwoes; while I do not deny that the world isstill undergoing significant financialtension, the way forward for the forestindustry in the UK could well be brighterthan one might think!


3

News relating to Scottish Woodlands

News

Colin Mann, Managing Director hasbeen reinstated as the Chair of Conforfor another term.

Forestry supports more than 170,000jobs across the UK and contributes inexcess of £7 billion in added economicvalue, according to the last detailedstudy of the sector. While the industryunderstands the messages Confor hasbeen seeking to get across aboutmodern forestry, it has been hard tocommunicate this to the wider public,the media and politicians.

Consequently, Confor has recentlyunveiled a new look to reflect themodern face of forestry and the natureof the businesses that work in the sector.It is recognised that the forest industryneeds to convey its great story to wideraudiences, to present a more accurateand rounded picture of everything thatforestry does. Forest owners andbusinesses are the stewards of ourforests and they generate income thatcan be re-invested into managing

woodland, for the benefit of all. Conforrepresents around 2000 forest andwood-using businesses across the UK.

The new logo presents a more accuratepicture of the role that the sector plays.The change is designed to reflect thedynamism and value of forestry, whichmakes a significant economic,environmental and social contribution tothe UK in the 21st century. It alsodemonstrates the positive role that Conforplays in promoting forestry and wood.

Membership of Confor is open to anyindividual, business or organisation withan interest in the UK industry. Membersdrive the activities and priorities of Conforand enjoy a wide range of benefits. YourScottish Woodlands’ forest manager willbe able to give you further informationabout the organisation and/ormembership if required.

Scottish Woodlands Ltd welcomes theScottish Government’s commitmentto forestry in Scotland which was re-stated in its spending review.

This includes the pledge to achievingthe target of 10,000 hectares of newwoodland creation each year. Moreover,the government retains its support of

Forestry Commission Scotland andForest Enterprise Scotland with aninvestment of over £65 million in 2012-13.

As the timber market continues toexpand, Forestry Commission statisticsnote that the private sector made upmore than half of the annual totalharvest in 2010, up from 40% in 2009.

Scottish Government committed to Planting Target

Could your land be in the new CentralScotland woodland creation target area?If so you may qualify for enhancedwoodland creation payments througha new initiative and benefit from theexcellent future potential of timber. Weare looking for landowners interestedin planting mixed woodland in partsof Fife, Stirlingshire, Renfrewshire,Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and the Lothians.

The SRDP now includes a plantingmodel specifically targeting mixedwoodland planting throughout centralScotland, with a desire for futurecommercial use - a proportion of coniferspecies and broadleaves planted at

commercial stocking densities. Theinitial grant rates range from £4,000 -£4,500/ha. On agricultural land thescheme attracts the initial planting sum,five-year maintenance payments andFarmland Premium payments offeringa potential short-term income stream.Rates vary between LFA/non-LFA andare subject to eligibility criteria.

Please contact your local ScottishWoodlands’ office in Perth, Maybole,Castle Douglas or Newtown St Boswellsor Charles Bushby (T: 01738 625128;E: [email protected]) forfurther information about eligibility andthe application process.

STOP PRESS: Attractive grant packagefor Central Scotland

Confor Corner

In the recent months, we havewelcomed the following people to thecompany: Simon Amor, Forest Managerbased in Strathpeffer; Debbie Bain,Office Administrator based inStrathpeffer; Paul Boobyer, TraineeManager / Forest Supervisor, based atNewtown St Boswells; Niall Duncan,Trainee Harvesting Manager, based atLochgilphead; Antoni Dunn, TraineeForest Manager based in Alnwick; AliciaGlasgow, Receptionist/Secretary, basedat Head Office; Jonathan Harker, SeniorForest Manager based in Newtown StBoswells/Alnwick; Peter Jones, SeniorForest Manager, based in CentralScotland; Casey Keller, Forest Managerbased at Fort William; AndrewMaclachlan, Mapping Assistant, basedat Castle Douglas; Katharine Nell,Administrative Assistant, based atChester; Morven Wilson, Trainee Auditor/SEQ Support, based at Roddinglaw.

And at Perth Utilities: Dave Bridge,Trainee Arborist; Claire Lowe, OfficeJunior; Jamie Phillips, Trainee Arborist;Robbie Stewart, Trainee Arborist; YvonneVan Vuuren, Office Administrator(maternity cover for Helen Brown).

In addition, Jean Deamer has joined usfull-time, as ICT Coordinator and OfficeManager based in the LandscapingDivision, Roddinglaw, Edinburgh.

John Sutherland has left to work as thehead forester on Corrour estate. Earlierthis year, Erine Love retired.

We wish everyone well for the future,either for a long and happy career withScottish Woodlands or in the nextchapter of their lives.

Staff News

The Scottish Woodlands’ website hasrecently had a slight refresh. We hopeyou find the information online of use;your local forest manager will be able todiscuss any specific proposals in moredetail. Contact details of our offices areavailable on the website.

Please let us know if you have anyfeedback on the website:www.scottishwoodlands.co.uk

Website


4

Forestry Investment

The market for investing in land-basedequities continues to be buoyant withstrong interest in both establishedforests and land for planting. There iscertainly a growing realisation of thebenefits of forestry and timber, whetherthis be growing logs to sustain ourdomestic wood-processing industry,which in turn supports the constructionindustry, or for landscape, biodiversityand establishment of a carbon resource.The sector has been shown in recentresearch to directly employ 40,000people in the UK. In 2009 the forest andforest products sector provided £10billion to the national economy. In 2010,9.6 million green tonnes of softwoodwere harvested in the UK and in recentyears, the domestic timber industry hasexpanded its market share while importshave declined.

The Investment Property Databank haspublished a Forestry Index for a numberof years on behalf of a number of sponsorswithin the industry, including ScottishWoodlands. This independent index helpsto benchmark forestry with otherinvestment classes, some of which havesuffered in recent years as a result of theglobal economic situation. The 2010Forestry Index demonstrates a continuedupward trend from last year, with theannualised rate for 2010 being 20% incomparison with other investments suchas equities at 14.5% and gilts at 9.1%.Over the last 3 years, the forestry return

has been 12.6% in comparison withequities at 1.4% and gilts at 7.7%.Motivation for investors to considerforestry and land-related activity variesaccording to personal circumstancesand includes Inheritance Tax mitigation,tax-free timber returns and sometimesother factors such as recreation andamenity. However, when making aninvestment most people look for aprimary decision driver which gives themconfidence in the sector as a whole,regardless of tax treatments which could

Investing inForestry and Land

possibly be changed at some point inthe future.

Demand for the actual forest productsprovides the true backbone of theinvestment and there is no substitute forexamining this in the field. This year’sScottish Woodlands’ Investment StudyTrip was based in Lochaber and thegroup were able to see the currentrunning of, and major expansion plansfor, BSW Timber’s Fort William sawmillalongside ClydeBoyd (Fort William) andGreat Glen Shipping companies’ timbertransport methodologies by sea andcanal. The group found these aspectsvery interesting; the levels of investmentand determination to succeed in thesesectors sent a very clear messagethat demand is strong, growing andsustainable.

This was followed by a visit, led by StuartWilkie, our Senior Forest Manager basedin the Fort William office, to see a recentclear-fell site on Fassfern Estate. Thisprovided an excellent vantage point toview and understand the implementationof a large-scale commercial forest planwhere the restructuring process hasbeen in train for a number of years. Thenaturalised landscape which is emergingepitomised a modern well-managedforest with multi-aged stands andcarefully placed long-term retentions

Ralland BrowneInvestment and Services DirectorTelephone: 01738 625128

[email protected]

The group learning about maritime timber transport, with Ben Nevis in the background.

Discussing the changing forestry landscape in Glen Suileag on Fassfern Estate.


Case Study

James AdamsonInvestment &Business Development ManagerTelephone: 01738 625128

[email protected]

5

a long way from the property. The rolewe can fulfil includes identification andpre-application scoping of the potentialopportunity, selection and engagementof architects and planning consultants,pre-construction services includingselection of team professionals, projectmanagement and, of course, client liaison.

In the recent project, we lead a teamcomprising a local architect, quantitysurveyor, structural engineer and otherconsultants, as well as organised siteservices (electricity, security and BT) andcarried out some works (bellmouth andfencing) through our directly employedlabour squads. During the constructionphase, we were closely involved in themanagement of the principal contractorand provided budget control andpayment based on the QS andarchitect’s valuation certificates.

The result has been the transformationof a ruin into a modern, spacious familyhouse, with excellent design featuresincluding a combined private watersupply/ground source heating systemincorporating the most moderntechnology. The property provides asmart, functional space for the client andrepresents a solid investment of capitalin bricks and mortar to the overall benefitof the property, transforming it fromworking forest to small forestry estate.

Part of the appeal of forestry as aninvestment class is that because itis land-based, diversification into anon-forestry use can be a very realpossibility. In the case of built property,this can be purely for profit throughsale of a consented development site,to add a separate dimension of valueto the asset in the long-term, or simplyto create a place for retreat and quietenjoyment.

Before the 2008 property crash, over-heated residential markets lead to a hiveof speculative development, identifyingpotential house sites, obtaining planningconsent and selling off. With hindsight,this was the proper way to exploit themarket at the time, but plots were oftenflawed by the need to comply withplanning requirements, having to acceptthe planner’s desired location asopposed to something with sensiblemarket appeal. The legacy of this is thata number of consented sites remainunsold, and unless an exceptional site,we are now probably in a market weresuch sites are of limited market appealand therefore price. Is it therefore worthconsidering capitalising on the increasingcapacity in the building industry andtaking the opportunity to ‘do it yourself’?

Scottish Woodlands has recentlycompleted the project management of anew-build house for an overseas-basedclient near to Thornhill in Stirlingshire aspart of the wider ranging services we areable to provide through our in-houseChartered Surveyors. Modern planningand building standards require considerableand varied input, often involving a wide-ranging team of professional advisers;co-ordination and project management isa key function, especially for clients based

Project Managementin tandem with riparian management.The connected approach to deer controland sporting stalking had also beentaken into account in the designprocess, and we were fortunate to havethe Estate Head Keeper on hand toexplain the methodologies used.

Another outcome of this trip was for thevisitors to understand more of the depthof services provided by ScottishWoodlands. Stuart Wilkie talked the groupthrough the development of a major pieceof planning gain on Fassfern Estate andthe development of the ‘low cost housing’element where he and I had workedclosely together. We were also able to seethe estate’s wood chip boiler and itssupply chain working very efficiently.

I would like to thank the teams at BSWTimber, Clydeboyd (Fort William), GreatGlen Shipping Company and Mr AngusMacDonald for their time and hospitalityas well as West Highlands Woodlandsfor allowing the trip to be hosted onFassfern Estate.

As well as the hosts named above mythanks go to Stuart Wilkie, Senior ForestManager, David Robertson, RegionalManager, and Jean Nairn, BusinessSupport Manager who helped to makethis a very successful and informativeday. We hope all the attendees enjoyedthe day and found it useful.

Within our Investment Team, as well asour Acquisition Services, we help andadvise our clients on whole estate andproperty management as well asspecific project management. This canbe a residential project but also includesrenewable energy projects, i.e. small-and large-scale wind farms, micro-hydrogeneration and biofuel operations.

The housing project at Fassfern.


Household income has fallen and islikely to be squeezed further. As aresult, there is a lack of consumerconfidence which is adversely affectingretail sales. The prospects for theemployment market are poor with noreal improvement anticipated in theforeseeable future. The housing andmortgage market is stagnant andconstruction activity remains at wellbelow pre-recession levels thoughthere are signs of increasing buildingwork. The list goes on in the same veinand, on a global level, it is a similarstory with concerns remaining oversovereign debt issues in the Eurozoneand increasingly pessimistic predictionsrelating to the speed of recovery in theUSA. So, if one is looking for bad newsit is not hard to find!

It can therefore come as no surprisethat the purchasers of wood and woodproducts are unable to see through allof the gloom, which serves only toheighten their general lack of faith in themarket, resulting in a reluctance to takeanything other than a short-term view.

The uncertainty finally began to influencethe domestic timber market which

remained strong for most of 2010through to the early summer of this year,but then slowed, which immediatelygave rise to concerns. However, thecause of this change was unclear, withsome suggesting a genuine fall indemand and others promoting the viewof a seasonal effect resulting fromsummer holidays and other distractions.In the general climate of uncertainty, withbuyers not looking very far ahead, thisshould come as no real surprise butthere is a need to be responsible, nottalk the market down and to try to bemore optimistic in our outlook.

Forestry is generally accepted to be along-term activity and we shouldtherefore take a rather more mature viewof the current situation. Over the courseof the twentieth/early twenty-firstcenturies, woodland cover in the UK hasincreased to 13% (18% in Scotland, 15%in Wales, 10% in England and 6% inNorthern Ireland).

On the domestic level, the weakness ofsterling has allowed a significantelement of import displacement. Theoverall market has shrunk but the UKprocessors have secured a much largerslice of the smaller cake. This marketshare is now 42% by volume; a significantincrease over the last 30 years.

The pound is expected to remain ataround its current level against the Eurofor the next 12 months and this hasruled out any immediate prospect ofimports from Europe and Scandinaviareturning to “normal” levels.

In addition to the currency advantage,log prices in Europe and Scandinaviaremain high which is allowing UKsawmills to retain an advantage ofaround 10% in the price of sawn wood.The threat of the Scandinavian andEuropean sawmillers reacting bydropping prices is considered to beimprobable and production cuts areseen as a more likely response in orderto protect prices. The UK sawmillers

Trawling through the briefing papers produced by the financial institutions andthe media, the consistent message is that economic activity in the UK remainssluggish, with continued uncertainty over the timing of the recovery.

Timber Market Update

6

Timber Harvesting in uncertain times


7

Michael HallGeneral Manager -Harvesting & Marketing (South)Telephone: 01665 602790

[email protected]

would obviously welcome this as it wouldonly serve to strengthen their position.

There is little doubt that the future forforest owner is bright as there is generalconsensus that supply will come underincreasing pressure both at a domesticand global level. Recently, concernshave been expressed by a wide range ofinterest groups from the RSPB (adverseenvironmental impact) to the WoodPanel Industries Federation - WPIF(detrimental economic impact onexisting un-subsidised industries overthe use of wood as a fuel to produceelectricity only). Electricity only is themost inefficient use of biomass, withCombined Heat and Power - CHP next,and heat only being the most efficientuse of wood as a fuel. This issue hasbeen raised within the context of theforthcoming review of the bands withinthe Government’s RenewableObligation, the current mechanismdriving the expansion of renewableenergy projects in the UK.

Global deforestation is still occurringat the rate of 0.2% per annum andrepresents an area of around 8 millionhectares which is equivalent to almost

three times the total UK forest area. Addto this the expected world populationincrease from the current 7 billion to 9billion by 2050 (i.e. in roughly the time itwould take to grow a Sitka spruce tree),the per capita use of wood will need toreduce which entirely contradicts theinternational approach being adoptedto combat climate change, including thegreater use of wood for energy production.Add to this, a rapidly developing interestin wood as the biomass feedstock forbio-refineries producing fuel, power andchemicals and you can see how theglobal supply is coming under increasingpressure.

The UK Government planned to launchthe Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) on30 September as part of its commitmentto achieve 12% renewable heat usageby 2020. Systems using woody biomassare identified as being key to the deliveryof the RHI and would inevitably haveresulted in an increased focus on woodas a fuel. However, the EuropeanCommission has thrown a fairly largespanner in the works by expressingconcerns that the large biomass tariff isset too high. State aid approval isrequired for the RHI and in the absence

of European Commission approval thelaunch of the RHI has been delayed.Although this delay is extremelydisappointing the government hasstressed that it is committed tolaunching the scheme as soon aspossible in order to minimise disruption.In Scotland, heat represents 50% of thetotal energy demand and the ScottishGovernment, in its Renewable HeatAction Plan, states that “in the short tomedium-term, systems which usewoody biomass are likely to be the mostfrequently employed technologiesacross all sectors”. In order to achieveeven 25% of the Scottish target around1 million tonnes of wood will berequired. The Scottish Governmentadvocates that fuel wood should beused at an appropriate local scale andpromotes combined heat and powerprojects rather than larger-scaleelectricity-only generation.

A more broadly-based analysistherefore provides us with an optimisticoutlook for the future. Accept that, likeother globally traded commodities, thetimber market will fluctuate but all ofthe macro-indicators point to a verybright future indeed.


Important as all of the current diseaseissues undoubtedly are, to my mindthese are not the greatest risk we face.We will receive expert advice fromForest Research and will learn to livewith the new circumstances. No, themost worrying aspect is the deficiencyof new productive afforestation andthe divide between the current newplanting figures and the future timberrequired to maintain a truly viable woodprocessing industry which can playts part in, for instance, low carbonconstruction. We are in real danger ofwood supply for this purpose seizingup as we go into the next decade.From where will future raw materialcome if the present situation continues?

There is a significant dis-connectbetween reality and political strategy,targets and sound bites. Almost everypublic statement by an MP or MSPreaffirms the desire to see a prosperous,vibrant rural economy with forestryplaying a key part, followed bycomments that the forest estate isexpanding. It is becoming increasinglyclear that the reality is rather different.Significant areas of commercial coniferforest are being cleared permanently forrenewable energy (windfarms). Theseare not being replaced though there isnow a requirement for compensatoryplanting elsewhere. Those productiveforests that were planted in the sixtiesand seventies are now being clear-felledand replanted with a smaller acreage ofproductive crop than the original forest.The net effect is that the area ofproductive forestry is, in fact, shrinking.

The plant nurseries know that this ishappening by virtue of their salesrecords. The Forestry Commission knowthat this is happening because blendingtheir own activities with the informationfrom Felling Licence/Forest PlanApprovals gives them the completepicture. The timber processing industry isalso making public noises about theirconcerns over future timber supplies.There is a head of steam building up foran acceptance in the political world of theissues that are facing the forestry sector.

Too many people now judge the politicalwords to be hollow. Nursery owners areunable to plan ahead; forestrymanagement companies struggle tomaintain the skill level of the requisitelabour force and the professional staff.The overall effect on morale is negative,creating a lack of motivation, difficultiesin recruitment and crucially, a majoropportunity is being missed. If forestry isa long-term business, how are we goingto encourage today’s teenagers to joinour sector, let alone persuade investorsto plant trees – their confidence isessential or they will not make thedecision.

The greatest risk to forestry is that we donot face up to this reality.

Forestry cannot expand without affectingother land uses. There is clearly anargument for having more mixed landuse. Hill farms with productive forestryareas providing timber and shelter forstock might be a better option than thewhole farm disappearing into a forestplantation; however, grant structures andapproval processes work against this.Forestry has a very significant role to playfor a host of reasons but the productionof useful fibre must be fundamental.

In the future, we may well use sawnplanks of wood but, equally, we areseeing the demand for biomass energy,and most recently, the development ofnano-technology using cellulose fibretaken from trees. The future market fortimber will undoubtedly mature anddevelop in ways not yet totally clear butwithout the trees, there will be no rawmaterial. That, to my mind, is the biggestrisk we are facing.

That said it gives me great pleasure tobe involved with Scottish Woodlands inthe significant forest creation project atShepherdscleuch near Ettrick. Whilethe farming element is small we haveretained a sheltered paddock that thelocal farmer is grazing. It has beenrewarding to see the local forester’senthusiasm for the task and the general“buzz” of positive labour with such atangible result. The model used atShepherdscleuch is what we require tosee more of in other new plantingschemes.

ICF President risks his views on resourcing the future timber supply

8

Resourcing FutureTimber Supply by Guest Writer: Fenning Welstead - President, Institute of Chartered Foresters

and John Clegg & Co LLP

New woodland creation in the Scottish Borders


Extending Knowledge Transfer in the Land-use Sector

Following on from “tree planting totimber processing” site visits to south-west Scotland in 2010 by key policypersonnel of both NFUS and RSPB,Scottish Woodlands Ltd has againplayed host to assist Confor make thecase for well-designed productiveforestry being higher on the agenda ofthose bodies with political influence withGovernments at Holyrood, Westminsterand Brussels. Scottish Woodlands,working together with Confor, hosteda visit by key representatives of thefarming press in Scotland this summer.Those attending represented TheScottish Farmer, Farmers Weekly,The Herald, The Scotsman and TheCourier/The Press and Journal.

After a visit to the impressive high-techHowie Forest Products Sawmill atDalbeattie (now part of the BSW Timbergroup), the journalists were taken toBarwhillanty Estate by kind permissionof the owners, John and Anne Yerburghand family, to view their latest woodlandcreation project which was planted byScottish Woodlands in 2010.

The Yerburgh family have been excellentlong-standing clients of ScottishWoodlands for many years. Indeed,since the Head Forester retired in 1991,our company has had overallresponsibility for all forest managementduties on the estate, and also morerecently, we now provide factoringservices regarding tenant farms,renewable energy developments, etc.

Barwhillanty estate has a totallandholding of over 2,000 hectares, ofwhich 64% is now woodland of sometype though predominantly commercialconifer (75% is Sitka spruce). On whatwas a “sporting estate”, John Yerburghand family planted the main woodlandsbetween 1957 and 1973 and havecontinued with new woodland plantingsover the last 22 years. Under WGS/FPgrant schemes, over 210 ha of new farmwoodlands were planted between 1989and 1999 which provided excellentshort-term cash flows, as well assubstantial capital growth in the valueof the estate.

With the fairly recent sale of a tenantedfarm and buy-back of another let farm,the Yerburghs looked at maximising theland use of this farm unit, a total area of

170 ha. In 2010, concurrent SRDPapplications were made for an agri-environment scheme and creation ofnew woodland, to create two newProductive Conifer (low cost)woodlands, on 20% of the farm holding.

The new woodlands were plantedpredominantly on the upper elevationfields, which were largely bracken androcky knolls (i.e. unproductive sheepground) and the new woodlands arenow establishing very well in theirsecond year of growth. These two newwoodlands are projected to generatea net income of £20,000 to the estate’sin-house farming business over the first10 years of growth. This is equivalent to£60 per ha per year, while also providingimproved pheasant shoots, shorter-term,and valuable timber income in thelonger-term (and fuel for the estate’swoodfuel boiler).

The farming journalists enjoyed their dayin South West Scotland, meeting Mr andMrs Yerburgh and hearing first-hand how

an upland farm unit can benefit froman integrated approach to landmanagement, retaining productive lowerground fields in agriculture but alsoplanting productive woodland crops onland of lesser value. The third generationof the Yerburgh family will no doubtbenefit from the ongoing wise land usepolicy on this beautiful estate.

For advice on your landholding/farmregarding any of the grant optionsavailable in Scotland (8 New WoodlandCreation options under SRDP), England(3 elements under EWGS 7), Wales (5woodland categories under GlastirWoodland Creation Grant which arestand-alone from the Glastir All-Waleselement) or Northern Ireland (WoodlandGrant Scheme for new planting), pleasecontact your local Scottish Woodlands’office - our Managers will be pleased topay you a site visit and discuss thegrants/costs involved in planting somenew woodlands, for single or multipleobjectives.

Strengthening the case formore productive Woodlands

Colin KennedyAssociate DirectorTelephone: 01556 503925/07889 475191

[email protected]

Left to right: Stuart Goodall, Chief Executive, Confor; Anne Yerburgh, Estate owner; Colin Kennedy,and Paul Rusby, Estate farm manager looking at new woodland plans on site.

9


Large forest and moorland fires require enormous resources to put out. Large,hot fires pose a threat to people, property, and conservation interests. Fireservices, estates, Forest Enterprise, and conservation agencies all havepressures on staff availability. Fire danger is also increasing, with greater fuelloads, more frequent droughts and increased access to high fire risk areas. Howcan we cope? One way is by sharing resources through local wildfire groups.

Many would recognise the groups asthe old mutual assistance schemeswhere neighbours turned out to helpthe Fire & Rescue Service (F&RS) andeach other when there was a bigmoorland or forest fire. The differenceis that new groups are developing amore coherent structure involving bothland-based and F&RS interests aspartners.

Fire groups provide a very useful pointof contact between all interested parties,especially estates and the fire service.The aim of the groups is to maximiseeffective and efficient use of resourcesat fires, and generally share andminimise costs. Quality informationsharing, common agreed proceduresand good personal relationships are thekey to their success.

The first fire group was set up in theNorth of the Grampian Fire Brigade areasome 30 years ago to protect forestryinterests. Moorland interests are moreevident in the newer groups establishedin South Grampian, Speyside and insome of the national park areas ofEngland. Now there are plans for groupsto cover all the high fire risk areas ofScotland, mainly in the Highlands, andwhere the common interest that bringsmany land managers together in theseareas are Deer Management Groups.At a national level the Scottish WildfireForum has been established(www.scottishwildfireforum.org) with awide range of rural interests and F&RSrepresented.

Big wildfires put enormous stress on thestaff involved be they from the F&RS,

10

With Guest Writer: Michael Bruce - Glen Tanar Estate

estates or agencies. Helicopters, fireengines, ATV’s, fogging units, pumps,hoses, fire beaters and people are allinvolved, with a F&RS officer and/or landmanager in the middle, trying to getthem all organised suppressing the firesafely and effectively, before the fireraces over the top of the next hill.

Prior planning and preparation –contingency planning - helpstremendously in these emergencysituations. Core planning information forthe groups are contact lists of theestates’ and agencies’ personnel; andfire suppression equipment available ina local area.

A key motivation to support the work of awildfire group is that the next fire couldbe on your own estate, moor, farm, or

Rural Wildfire Groups


11

forest. The second is the good neighbourprinciple; being prepared to turn out toassist neighbours and the F&RS.

Features of successful wildfire groupsinclude:

• A group Secretary who has a goodknowledge of all the people andestate/moor/farm/forest boundaries inthe local area as well as being a goodcommunicator and organiser.

• Common interests and a willingnessto work with and for each other,between landowners and their staff.

• Some form of annual meeting whereeveryone gets together to confirmcontact details; this does not need tobe a fire group meeting specifically, it could be an add-on to anothermeeting such as a DMG or Moorlandmeeting.

• Landowner authorisation proceduresfor helicopters for F&RS.

• Standard operating procedures forestates working in support of F&RS.

• Common radio frequencies betweenestates. Many estates have thisfeature on their radios already, forexample to assist in area deer counts.

Successful fire groups also depend ongood quality information at the estate/moor/farm/forest level:

• Estate or groups of estates fire mapsusing standard symbols

• Estate emergency fire action plans• An understanding of fuel load hazard

areas on the estate

Some F&RS hold this type ofinformation in their computerisedcontrol rooms, especially:

• Fire maps / estate boundaries• Landowner’s helicopter authorisations• Lists of available estate personnel

and equipment

Common positions on health and safetyhave been agreed and are summarisedin the HSE AFAG 803 EmergencyPreparedness leaflet.

Competency standards for prescribedburning and fire fighting have beenagreed by the Game and Wildlife, andTrees and Timber Industry Groupswithin Lantra Sector Skills Council(www.lantra.co.uk). These can be usedto support training and certification.

Summary of tasks and responsibilities:

LAND MANAGER• Common Procedures• Fire Map• Fire Action Plan• Specialist labour & equipment • Access routes & 4WD transport• Insurance: helicopters, private sector

fire fighting costs• Logistical support, food and water

FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE• Common Procedures• Liaison mechanism• Communications link to control room• Firefighters & equipment• Incident Command System (ICS)• Helicopter authorisations

As you may remember, there weremany forest fires throughout the UK thisspring. Consequently, we asked MichaelBruce of Glen Tanar Estate and fellowConfor member to assist with this articlein light of his experience on this subjectin Grampian. If you have any queries onany of the issues raised, please contactyour local woodland insurance advisoror Rob Shaw for more information.

Rob ShawSEQ and Contracts DirectorTelephone: 01997 420040

[email protected]

For the first time in the UK, PEFC-certified chipwood from a privately-owned Group scheme from ScottishWoodlands has been delivered to aleading manufacturer of timber products.

In keeping with its ambitious sustainableprocurement policies and quest forcertified raw material, chipwood hasbeen delivered to Egger UK, one of theleading manufacturers of wood-basedpanels in Europe.

John Paterson, Wood PurchasingManager at Egger UK said “We weredelighted to take the first deliveries ofprivately grown PEFC round wood fromScottish Woodlands. As a result ofincreasing demand for PEFC certifiedchipboard from our customers, werequired a guaranteed supply of PEFC-certified round wood. ScottishWoodlands Ltd responded to ourrequest and having obtaining PEFCchain of custody was in a position to

deliver. We have a long establishedtrading relationship with ScottishWoodlands Ltd and once again theyproved themselves to be responsiveto market requirements”.

The growth in homegrown UK-sourcedtimber and wood products has grownquickly since 2010 when over a millionhectares of UK forests were dual certifiedas PEFC and FSC under the UnitedKingdom Woodland Assurance Standard(UKWAS). This far-reaching developmentincludes all the Forestry Commissionforests in England, Scotland and Walesand some 500 privately-owned forestestates, including a number in NorthernIreland, managed through the ScottishWoodlands and UPM Tilhill forest groupcertification schemes.

The amount of domestic PEFC-certifiedtimber is thriving and becoming moreplentiful and more popular. ScottishWoodlands is at the centre of this boom

in available forest resource. Thecompany has grown and developedsignificantly in the last two decades tobecome a major player in the Britishforestry and timber industry, deliveringover 750,000 tonnes of timber perannum into UK sawmillers, and plantingin excess of 25% of private sector newwoodland expansion. Its annual sales in2010 exceeded £46 million and PEFC-certified UK timber is set to become akey component.

Rob Shaw, SEQ Director for ScottishWoodlands Ltd commented “we weredelighted to be able to deliver UKdomestically produced timber from oneof our client’s woodlands which we aremanaging to the UKWAS Standard. Ourdual certified status allowed us to fulfillthis order so that the finished productscould bear the PEFC label. We lookforward to supplying more PEFCcertified timber in the future.”

PEFC and Scottish Woodlands

A UK first for PEFC Chipwood Delivery

Promoting SustainableForest Management

www.pefc.org

PEFC/16-40-1000


12

Utility Arboriculture & Canopy Tree Care Merge

But as various pieces of legislationwere brought in, and resultingcompetencies were a necessity to hold,it was clear to all that a more structuredapproach was required to develop thebusiness stream further. Consequently,the contractors and direct labour staffundertaking this type of electricalarboricultural work nowadays are someof the most qualified operatives workingfor the company.

Initial success in the Tayside area withSSE gave us a solid platform from whichto extend operations to the whole ofthe SSE area. This was successfullymaintained until their decision to take alltree cutting operations ‘in house’. Overthe 4-year period that Scottish Woodlandsheld the entire SSE area (2000 - 2004),we cut and maintained nearly 20,000kilometres of overhead network.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, many Scottish Woodlands’ managers willremember being telephoned by Scottish Power or Hydro Electric (now SSE) toprovide a cutting crew on an adhoc basis for small outage locations.

People often say “when one door closesanother opens”; we immediately turnedto Scottish Power, supported by a skilledlabour force and an array of relevantmethod statements and riskassessments. Subsequently, wesuccessfully won an 18-month contractin the central and Lothian areas ofScottish Power’s network. Within 6 yearsof developing this type of work, theareas now maintained by our companyincludes Fife; Central Scotland; East,West, and Mid Lothians; Glasgow andsurrounding councils; Merseyside andparts of Cheshire.

As our utility-arboriculture operationgrows and develops in the Manweb areaof operation, we have taken the step ofmerging the Canopy Tree Care andUtility-Arb operations in this locality.Manweb’s area of operations is

Merseyside, the Wirral, North Wales andCheshire. Manweb is part of ScottishPower Energy Networks (SPEN), whichis owned by Iberdrola, the Spanishenergy giant.

From July 2011, Tim Mallinson movedinto the Ruabon Depot along with AdamCarpenter and the reporting functionshave transferred through to me at thePerth depot; the Ruabon depot nowforms part of the Electrical division.This consolidation helps to underpinour commitment to Manweb in thisgeographical area regarding vegetationmanagement operations. Alongside this,it streamlines and optimizes thetraditional tree surgery operation thathas existed within Flintshire Woodlandsfor many years.

Flintshire Woodlands continues tooperate out of offices at Tattenhall (nearChester) and Ludlow, but will focus ontheir mainstay work in forestry andtimber harvesting operations.

Over the last 4 years, we have grownour work in the Merseyside andCheshire areas, where we now have8,500 kilometres of power lines underour management. This work includesoperations in Scotland, and further call-off works across North Wales, the Wirral,Cheshire and Merseyside regions. Wehope to further improve this position inthe future.

Traditional tree surgery operations haveseen tough times recently with theeconomic downturn and public sectorspending cuts. This move within thecompany makes sense to ensure theoperation is as efficient as possible, andpreserves the very high skills-base andreputation of the Canopy team. We feelthat the new platform is the best way togrow both sides of the business, andallow a reinvestment cycle in equipmentand vehicles over the next decade.

Canopy Tree CareMerger

Matthew ParrDivisional Head Utilities (Electrical)Telephone: 01738 621708 (Perth)

& 01978 824003 (Ruabon)

[email protected]


SCOTTISH WOODLANDS NEWSLETTER AUTUMN … 2011.pdf · SCOTTISH WOODLANDS NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2011...

Documents

Transcript of SCOTTISH WOODLANDS NEWSLETTER AUTUMN … 2011.pdf · SCOTTISH WOODLANDS NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2011...