Forest Planning Review at Ballysallagh Forest

This consultation closed on 20th May 2006 and remains on this site for reference purposes only.

This page tells you about Ballysallagh Forest and outlines the management intention for the forest for the next five years.
If you would like to take the opportunity to comment on these, advice on how you can do so is given at the end of this section.

The land is in the ownership of DRD Water Service (except for one area at the top of Cairn Wood) and we manage the woodlands.
Ballysallagh Forest comprises four blocks of woodland, two of which surround reservoirs. These blocks are situated at Craigantlet and Creighton’s Green, two to three miles north of Dundonald. The largest is known as Cairn Wood and is an area that is used by the public, mainly for walking.
A large part of Cairn Wood has been set aside as a Forest Nature Reserve and is enjoyed by visitors.
The total area of all the woodlands is 174 hectares*.
(*1 hectare is approximately 2½ acres)

We recognise that the woodland at Cairn Wood is an important area to the public and we aim to manage it to facilitate this access and to manage the remaining woodland at Ballysallagh as at present.

In the Forest Nature Reserve, it is our intention to make use of more recent survey information that has been collected, to further identify important areas of biodiversity and we will advise visitors to the woodland of the significance of these.

The mature beech and Scots pine trees that are growing on the lower slopes of the hilltop in the Forest Nature Reserve are part of a designed landscape that was once part of the former Clandeboye Estate. Where this is compatible with our biodiversity management for the area, we would like to take the landscape into consideration.

To achieve this, and to ensure a minimum of disruption in the woodland, we intend to remove a small number of trees on a regular basis, from now on, instead of harvesting and replanting large areas of trees at any one time.
Our aim is to encourage oak woodland with different-aged trees and associated species to develop over the next generation. A wider variety of plant, animal and insect habitats will be created and some of the mature oak that are already present can help produce the seed source to naturally regenerate the woodland - although some tree planting may be necessary.

We aim to begin this process in the next five years and we would expect to undertake one period of work lasting no longer than a month. Disruption to public access should be minimal - although access will need to be restricted in close proximity to the work areas to ensure public safety and our normal procedures will advise visitors in advance of these arrangements.

Preparation of these five-year plans is now underway and we would welcome your comments on our approach.