The City of London are planning the next ten-year programme of conservation activities for Epping Forest. Funding permitting, the work will start in 2024. Public consultation on the proposal is open until 10th March.
Proposed conservation work
Much of the work proposed involves restoring wood pasture as well as heathland and grassland areas, which are all an important part of the rich mosaic of habitats that make up Epping Forest, much of which is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
The works will include grazing, some machine cutting and may include sensitive selected tree thinning to increase light. In some places turf may be stripped to remove competitive plants to allow the recolonisation of scarce species.
A grant is being sought from Defra through their Countryside Stewardship grant scheme to fund this vital work and as such, all proposals are subject to a successful grant application. A copy of the full proposal can be viewed here.
Let us know your views
Help inform our response by letting us know your views by emailing: policy@efht.org.uk by Wednesday 8th March 2023. We will feed in your views to the City of London Epping Forest team.
Our response
Our full response to the consultation can be viewed here.