About 30 members of the public – and several dogs – attended a “drop-in” meeting with Andrew Norris and Simon Smith, of the Forestry Commission, and Tim Leavers and Rob Dunning, of the timber harvesting contractor EuroForest Ltd, to hear about the work taking place in the plantation during October and November.
Tim Leavers cited a statistic that the average daily consumption of timber products across the world is approximately 4lbs per person. Depending on quality the softwood timber from the Cannonhill Plantation may be transformed into structural timbers for the building industry (roof trusses etc), fencing, pallets, chipboard, horse-litter and fuel pellets; UK timber is generally not of high enough quality for joinery purposes – doors, door-frames etc, which explains why so much is still being imported.
The sparse, sandy ground at Cannonhill and Uddens is largely unsuitable for growing quality hardwoods – though there is some Oak, Birch and Spanish Chestnut on the site. Operator Rob Dunning gave a demonstration of timber harvesting using their £340,000 Ponsse harvester.
Members of the public are asked to observe all the signage and to keep well clear of the machinery during the on-going works. Disturbance and damage to paths will be kept to a minimum and signage and barrier tape will be removed promptly once the work is completed.
