Buying property adjacent to commercial forest - potential issues?

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tigerlady

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Hope this is the right place to post this. Am considering buying a property which is adjacent to a commercial forest. Am concerned that when the time comes to fell that things will be very dusty and noisy and not quite the rural idyll I'm after. Are there restrictions on what time of year/day/night felling can take place? Has anyone any experience or advice on this, or any tips on where to go for more info? Have googled and most info seems to be aimed at those thinking of investing in forestry rather than on the third party who might be affected by the activities of a forester. Was thinking of calling the local authority or Teagasc or Coillte or the Department of Agriculture but don't want to spend the whole day on the phone and end up none the wiser!
Cheers in advance.
 
Re: Forestry

Hi there I think your best bet would be to firstly find out who actually owns the forest. It might be Coillte or it could be a private forestry company. Perhaps call the local Coillte office and get the local forest managers name and number - he/she should be able to tell you roughly when the forest will be clearfelled. When the clearfell is due there are certain hours in which it is carried out and locals are notified in advance. Depending on the size it is a speedy enough process.
 
Re: Forestry

If it is Coilte they dont hang about when felling, the major concern would be the large and drastic change in scenery!
 
Re: Forestry

you would be best to go to who ever has the rights to that forest and ask them, then it depends on how old the trees are, weather they will be pruned in stages or all at once depending on the branch sizes etc, felling would start approx bout 15-20 yrs depending on the maturity rate of the trees
 
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Ring the forest service in Johnstown Castle, Wexford. Lo call 1890 200 223. They should give you the full run down on what happens. As some of the earlier replies stated, a lot depends on the age of the forest and is it conifer or broadleaf. If broadleaf, it will be there probably for a century or so. If conifer it will be thinned at year 15/17 then thinned again at perhaps year 20/25 and clearfelled at year 35/45 all depending on the growth rates of the trees. Once clearfelled it is immediately replanted and it does mean a drastic change of scenery but you can request that attractive edge of woodland species are planted on the edge next your house when replanting takes place. Birch, rowan, larch are fast growing and some other broadleaves such as oak are very attractive and would enhance your property if the owners agreed to this. It would perhaps also increase the value of your property to be beside attractive woodland if the replanting is done attractively.
It is important to know who owns the forest. Its probably Coillte and they are not as bad as they are sometimes painted. Get talking to your local forester in charge and discuss your concerns with him. You might be surprised how helpful they can be. But do talk to them. You could of course try to buy the whole thing and then enjoy the tax free breaks from the sale of timber!! and buy a wood burning stove. Timber when burnt is carbon neutral and a whole lot cheaper than oil.
 
Thanks for all the replies - and to whoever changed the thread title.
I know who the company is who owns it - their signs are up everywhere, and I do plan to call them and get as much info as I can re dates of planting and age of plantation etc. I was hoping to talk to someone who was a little more objective first as the company could say anything and then do the opposite down the line. I would be interested to know what if any restrictions are legally imposed on the felling process by any state agency, so Johnstown Castle is a good place to start. - Is that part of the EPA Woodsman? Buying the whole thing - yeah maybe if I do the Euromillions!!
 
Woodsman's advice is spot on. Just one thing, if the signs on the property are for one of the private companies (ie not Coillte) it is unlikely that they own the forest and more than likely they are simply managing it for the owner. They should be normally quite happy to put you in touch with the owner if you need this.

Another thing, clearfelling is becoming a thing of the past due to environmental concerns. The current trend is for trees to be harvested on a gradual basis following maturity so that the environmental impact is a lot less than would have been the case had all the trees been chopped down at once.
 
I know several people living near commercial forestry whose water supply was affected (both quality and quantity). I know of one case where the forest owner provided an alternative water supply ( a new bored well and treatment).
 
That sounds serious ajapale. Did they have to go down a legal route for that? Its this type of issue that makes me wary - I've had very little luck tracking down which statutory body is ultimately responsible for enforcing standards on this. It seems to be primarily the forestry section of the DOAg and in the case of water quality DOEHLG will also have a role. Being dependant on the honourable behaviour of a third party isn't ideal. I would imagine in the case of a problem arising everyone will claim its not their repsonsibility and meanwhile the landowner is left with poor quality water etc.
 
tigerlady said:
Did they have to go down a legal route for that?
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No, their original supply was a mountain stream. Over the years forestry activity led to a deterioration of water quality and quantity. When this was pointed out to the forest owner/manager a mutual agreement was reached to supply an alternative supply. This was done at a cost of about €5k.
 
could you buy a small part of the forest to have as a barrier between you and the commercial forest ?

I grew up with a small 'woods' behind our house and for a kid playing in it was heaven.
 
ajapale said:
No, their original supply was a mountain stream. Over the years forestry activity led to a deterioration of water quality and quantity. When this was pointed out to the forest owner/manager a mutual agreement was reached to supply an alternative supply. This was done at a cost of about €5k.
Click to expand...

This sort of problem has tended to arise from two separate issues:
- planting of forests on unsuitable ground and too near watercourses
- overuse of phosphate fertilisers in establishing the forest in the first instance.

The State Forest Service have been acutely aware of these problems for many years and have introduced standards designed to ensure that they are minimised or avoided altogether. If you're worried about this, any professional forestry advisor should be able to advise you if either of these issues are likely to cause a particular problem for water quality in your chosen location.
 
Thanks for that Woodsman and Ubiquitous.
Pique318 - I doubt they'd sell but it might be worth checking out.
 
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