New woodland starts to take shape after delays

A new woodland on the edge of Loughborough is starting to take shape after wet weather delayed planting.

Work to plant 7,000 native broadleaf trees including oak, birch, ash and rowan to create the 8.6 hectare Nanpantan Woodland was due to begin in January.

But Charnwood Borough Council said "extremely wet conditions" had pushed back planting to March and more than 3,000 saplings are now in place.

Beverley Gray, the council's lead member for biodiversity, said: "We've made a really good start with roughly half the wood now planted to create an incredible new woodland that we're so excited about, really enhancing biodiversity and making a lovely backdrop to the Outwoods."

The site is currently laid out in rows of trees, surrounded by protective plastic guards, which the council said will eventually be recycled.

A council spokesman added that as the saplings grow, some will naturally die away as others thrive, then the woodland would be "thinned out" after about 15 years to make the site less uniform.

Gray said: "There will be glades, there will be some wildflowers going in.

"In the first five years we will start to see this woodland emerging and I think it's just going to be incredibly exciting to see this taking shape."

The council was given £172,000 in funding from the National Forest to finance the creation of the woodland and an accessibility track.

Stuart Dainton, head of land management and estates at National Forest, said: "This woodland will provide a hub for the people of Charnwood to meet with friends, family and explore the outdoors right on their doorstep."

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