The Estate includes 1000 acres of managed woodland and we have made significant investment in this area.
Diverse, in terms of topography and species, the woodland, which makes up 40% of the Estate, represents a significant landscape feature of the Kent Downs AONB and is probably one of the larger areas of managed woodland in the South East.
The woodland is largely classified as Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland or Planted Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland. The management of the woodland today has been significantly shaped by the impact of the great storm of 1987, when 4 million of our trees were lost overnight.
Significant investment has been made in the Estate’s forestry operations with the addition of over 8km of forestry track improvements to assist in the extraction of timber, a forestry barn erected for the storage of woodchip, and a Muxmax Woodchipper purchased for the Estate’s use and for third party contracting.
Our woodchip is used to heat 5 domestic properties, our grain stores, and various other third party facilities locally including our local hospital – The Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury.
As part of our annual maintenance of the woodland the herbaceous scalloped borders adjacent to the tracks are maintained to encourage wildlife to cross from one compartment to the other.
To purchase The Montreal Estate (BSL accredited) woodchip or to undertake contract chipping on your behalf please contact office@themontrealestate.co.uk, and take a look at our produce page for more information.
Profile of the Woods
The woodlands are typical of lowland estate forestry within the locality and are well stocked with a combination of broadleaf and conifer high forest and mixed broadleaf coppice (predominately Sweet Chestnut, with Birch, Ash, Sycamore and Willow) with the occasional mature Oak, Ash and Chestnut standards.
A significant element of coniferous species on the Estate were planted at the end of the second world war but most were destroyed in the Great Storm of 1987. This led to a period of ‘enforced’ restructuring requiring clearance and re-planting operations. Much of this thicket stage crop is now ready for thinning for the first time and has provided significant volumes of fencing and fuelwood material typically for biomass boilers, including the recently constructed local hospital.
Approximately 370 acres of the woodland comprise chestnut, and the product is coppiced by third parties, for onward sale. The Estate benefits from the coppicing activities, purchasing back the unwanted product to use for its own fencing posts, woodchip or charcoal production. Again, due to the abundance of fallen wood after the Great Storm, the coppicing activities on the Estate were deferred and the Estate has spent the last 10 years working to restore a more even coppice rotation.
Management objectives and achievements
The management objectives for the woodland are relatively simple and focus around enhancing the capital value of the land and timber through sound silvicultural management that includes improving the biodiversity. Huge effort is put into the sustainable forestry accreditation (FSC® C112410). Emphasis continues on renewable energy, widening local timber markets and sustainable forestry practices.
Woodland Conservation
Good woodland management is important for both environmental and operational reasons. It includes, among other things, timely thinning, harvesting and coppicing rotations.
The Estate has benefitted from historic control of invasive species and pests. We engage in continuous management in both areas, keeping the growth of Japanese knotweed, Himalayan Balsam and Rhododendron under control.
Supporting the establishment and maintenance of small areas of young plantation is an annual focus, as is maintenance of our 2-zone ride network. Rides are linear woodland trackways, created to let in light, improving biodiversity and micro-habitats.
The Estate has worked with our local wildlife trust to help create a 10-mile-long Barn Owl Corridor. The corridor will be extended as part of the Landscape Recover Project in the Darent Valley.
The project involves 17 landowners with 10,900 acres of land between them and is part of a new grant scheme from DEFRA. The pilot, one of the first in the country, has commenced a 2-year development programme to ascertain detailed biodiversity and water quality base levels and objectives. Montreal Estate is delighted to be a part of this as it will improve the biodiversity across a large area of the Darent Valley and could help improve the biodiversity within our woodland as well.
