National Highways has today (24 September 2024) announced that work has begun on the new community facilities at Hole Farm Community Woodland in Brentwood, Essex.
Hole Farm Community Woodland, a 100-hectare site in Brentwood, Essex, will be the largest community woodland in the East of England. It is being delivered in partnership with Forestry England as part of the Lower Thames Crossing project and is set to open in summer 2025.
The new woodland will be accessible to the local community, and feature accessible walking paths, electric vehicle charging stations, and a café.
The site will be home to over 150,000 trees and a network of new ponds, providing vital habitats for wildlife. 80,000 trees have already been planted with help from local volunteers and schools. A diverse mix of trees including species such as black poplar, oak, hazel and hornbeam was developed with Forest Research, the UK’s principal organisation for forestry and tree-related research, to take account of the site geology, soil condition and climate. The woodland will be professionally managed by Forestry England.
Shaun Pidcock, Programme Director, Lower Thames Crossing said: "The countdown to the opening of the new woodland at Hole Farm is on as work to create the community facilities. The Lower Thames Crossing is the first in a new generation of sustainable infrastructure projects and will leave over six times more green space for the local community and wildlife, than road. The new woodland is just one part of our plans and will include 150,000 trees, new ponds, as well as walking paths, electric vehicle charging stations, and a café. We very much look forward to welcoming people here when it opens next summer.”
Councillor Barry Aspinell, Brentwood Council Leader, said: “We are delighted that work has started on the new facilities at Hole Farm Community Woodland. This project will provide a fantastic new space for our local community to enjoy, while also delivering significant environmental benefits. We look forward to seeing the woodland develop and become a valuable space for both residents and wildlife alike.”
Neil Kellet, Business Manager, Forestry England said: “We are delighted to have reached this important milestone in the development of Hole Farm Community Woodland. Today we begin the construction of facilities which will support access to the woodland through the provision of car parking, accessible paths, natural play and a small café. Ponds will be constructed to provide an important aquatic habitat, which will sit alongside woodland, hedges and wildflower meadows to provide a haven for wildlife and people. The next phase of woodland planting will take place this autumn and we look forward to opening the site for everyone to enjoy from the summer of 2025. There has been a lot of work in the background to get to this stage, and we are grateful to all involved for their hard work and commitment to delivering this new woodland, which will form part of the Thames Chase Community Forest.”
The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed new road crossing connecting Kent and Essex, that will almost double road capacity over the Thames east of London and reduce congestion at the Dartford Crossing. It has been designated a ‘pathfinder’ project that will explore carbon neutral construction as part of its efforts to make the new crossing the greenest road ever built in the UK.
The new facilities at Hole Farm will act as a test bed for what can be achieved in low-carbon construction. The site, which is being built by one of the project’s delivery partners, Balfour Beatty, is entirely diesel-free, with machinery and equipment powered by hydrogen, electric, and other low-carbon fuels.
The project is also committed to supporting local employment, with the work at Hole Farm being carried out by small and medium-sized businesses located within 20 miles of the woodland.
The government is due to make a decision on the Lower Thames Crossing planning application on or before 4 October 2024, and if given the green light, construction of the new road is expected to start in 2026. The new woodland at Hole Farm will go ahead regardless of the project’s status.