Nottinghamshire Coalfield

Sherwood Forest Community Rangers Project

The Nottinghamshire colliery tip sites were restored by Nottinghamshire County Council, in partnership with the Forestry Commission, through the 'Greening the Coalfield' project.  The two organisations and Sherwood Forest Trust then agreed to work together to manage the sites, including the provision of Community Rangers to facilitate local involvement in the management of the sites.

Project objectives

• To develop active community involvement, understanding and a sense of ownership and responsibility within local communities towards their local environment
• To encourage partnership working between landowners to increase the capacity within the landowner community to respond to and support community involvement by co-ordination of approach and resources
• To enable landowner and local communities to work together towards the protection, enhancement, care and management of key countryside sites adjacent to urban areas.

The project has worked with a wide variety of local schools, groups and individuals including approximately 1000 volunteer days per year and 500 school pupil visits per year.

Sites

There are seven former colliery tip sites plus several other local countryside sites, each with an area of approximately 50 to 150 ha.  The sites are mostly coniferous but there are also areas of broadleaf woodland, open water and grass or heathland.  Former pit sites were planted with Woodland Grant Scheme funding (granted to Nottinghamshire County Council), which required a high percentage of conifer plantation.  Sites are now being managed to redress the balance as far as possible, without affecting the grant.

Sites managed by Forestry Commission:

• Bevercotes Pit Wood
• Boundary Wood
• Ollerton Pit Wood
• Oxclose Wood
• Manton Pit Wood
• Shirebrook Wood
• Silverhill Wood.

Sites managed by other organisations, with ranger services provided by Forestry Commission:

• Tippings Wood
• Sherwood Heath
• Cockglode Wood
• Rainworth Water
• Oak Tree Heath
• Vicar Water

Funding

The Sherwood Forest Community Rangers project received funds of approximately £450,000 from CRT, Alliance Sub-regional Strategic Partnership and Heritage Lottery Fund.  Funding was obtained in spring 2001 and four Community Rangers were employed from summer / autumn 2001.

The funding for this project ended in March 2006, but the Forestry Commission will continue with the community involvement work that the project began.  This includes service level agreements with other local organisations, enabling the rangers to work on an area wide remit, rather than just on Forestry Commission sites.