Lamport Hall Preservation trust is a Rural Estate situated between Northampton and Market Harborough. The estate manages 2,250 acres including 65 acres of woodland and 200 acres of Parkland.
We have managed the parkland trees for over 6 years and in 2015 the estate decide to take a proactive step in managing its roadside trees which includes a woodland running along the the A508 a busy road running to Northampton.
Long spinney is a woodland running along the A508 which had been thinned as part of a forestry operation. To create a even spacing of trees throughout the woodland and to stop the remaining trees toppling onto the road the trees close to the road had to be selectively removed.
Working with Northamptonshire Highways we agreed a one lane road closure with two way traffic lights, to cause minimal disruption we avoided working during peak rush hours.
To make the best of use of the working hours we utilised a 40 meter self propelled cherry picker to safely dismantle the trees. To quickly clear material we situated a 8 tonne digger with brash grab in the woodland to move material off the road and into the woodland quickly for processing later.
The estate also had a number of very large and old trees situated on smaller country roads.
After we carried out a inspection of all the roadside trees we identified a number of trees with potential to cause harm.
Retaining the trees was important as they were important landscape and historical features as well as habitat to numerous species.
To retain these trees we carried out pruning works to reduce limbs back from the road, reducing mechanical stress and the likelihood of the tree causing harm to a negligible level.
We will continue to monitor these trees to ensure the trees preservation and safety.
