Recreation
Willows Woodland Closed 24 Feb to 7 Mar
The Willows Woodland will be closed for 2 weeks from Monday 24th February to allow for work on clearing trees affected by Ash Dieback
Published: 20 February 2025
The Willows Woodland
PDNPA will be undertaking essential ash dieback tree safety works, including tree and branch removal, in the woodland for up to two weeks, Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm, w/c 24th February.
During the course of the works, the woodland will be closed to the general public.
There will also be traffic management and temporary traffic lights in place for 1 or 2 days during the second week of the works.
Ash Dieback:
All the trees being felled or pollarded have ash dieback and are in the advanced stages of the disease, which causes death of the tree. The vast majority of infected ash trees die as a result of the disease.
PDNPA are removing ash trees that showed less than 50% of the tree canopy remaining in our annual Ash dieback surveys undertaken last summer. Any ash trees not showing advanced stages of the disease are being retained, as they are more likely to survive the disease. Where possible, PDNPA are pollarding or removing hazardous branches on the more mature trees in the woodland.
Ash trees affected by the disease suffer leaf loss and crown dieback and, in the advanced stages of the disease, the wood can become very brittle, affecting the structural integrity of the tree. Diseased trees are weakened by the disease and are more prone to shedding large pieces of deadwood, branch failure, or whole tree failure. This is why PDNPA are undertaking felling operations to remove ash trees in areas where the public are regularly present (such as community woodlands, well-used footpaths, car parks and trails) to reduce the risk of deadwood or branch/whole tree failure on to people using such sites.
Woodland Restoration:
Many of the ash trees being felled are in mixed wooded areas, where there are already other native broadleaf species growing. As well as addressing the risk of branch or whole tree failure, removing the dying ash trees will also give these other remaining trees more space to grow and flourish
PDNPA will be replanting The Willows with species of tree that have similar ecological benefits to ash trees and with willow cuttings from other locally native willows. They also anticipate that parts of the woodland will regenerate naturally with tree species that are already present on site.
For further information on Ash Dieback, please refer to PDNPA’s Ash Dieback FAQs: