For The Woodland Trust
Planting 115,000 Trees in Norfolk
Project Overview and Scope
The Thompson Woodland Creation scheme is a 63-hectare project located in Thompson village, Norfolk. This large-scale initiative, which includes logistics, the planting of over 115,000 trees and 6 years maintenance service, is a partnership between the Woodland Trust and Maydencroft.
The remit assigned to Maydencroft involves the physical delivery of the woodland, encompassing three phases of planting followed by three years of intensive establishment maintenance. The project is being delivered over a three-year cycle, starting in 2025, to ensure high-quality establishment and management across a diverse landscape.
Core objectives
The primary objectives of the scheme are:
- Tree Cover: To increase overall woodland cover within the Norfolk landscape.
- Community: To enhance amenity spaces for public use and wellbeing.
- Carbon Sequestration: To create and sell carbon units to support long-term environmental sustainability.
- Biodiversity: To improve local biodiversity and strengthen habitat connectivity between Thetford Forest and the local Pingos (small, crate-like depressions formed by melting underground ice).
- Resources: To provide a sustainable timber resource in the long term.
Planting specifications and phasing
The project is divided into two distinct typologies: Broadleaf Woodland and Wood Pasture. Total planting figures are phased as follows:
| Phase / Year | Type | Area (ha) | Density (stems/ha) | Total stems |
| Phase 1 (2025) | Broadleaf Woodland | 11.02 | 2,250 | 27,795 |
| Wood Pasture | 4.60 | 400 | 1,840 | |
| Phase 2 (2026) | Broadleaf Woodland | 19.46 | 2,250 | 43,785 |
| Wood Pasture | 8.28 | 400 | 3,312 | |
| Phase 3 (2027) | Broadleaf Woodland | 17.50 | 2,250 | 39,375 |
| Wood Pasture | 2.40 | 400 | 960 |
Species mix and resilience
All stock is UK-grown and sourced from a local nursery to ensure biosecurity and local provenance. The species mix for Phase 1 includes:
- Primary Species: Pedunculate Oak (20%), Silver Birch (18%), Downy Birch (8%), and Hawthorn (8%).
- Diverse Mix: Hazel, Aspen, Common Alder, Rowan, Field Maple, and Goat Willow.
- Minority/Shrub Species: Small Leaved Lime, White Willow, Common Beech, Crab Apple, Dog Rose, Blackthorn, and Alder Buckthorn.
The selection is tailored to local soil conditions and designed to create a multi-structured system that is resilient to future pests, diseases, and climate pressures.
Technical specification and UKFS compliance
The design follows the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS), which seeks to avoid monocultures and promote both structural and species diversity to improve resilience to climate change and disease. Because different species grow at different rates, mixed planting can sometimes lead to a loss of diversity as faster growing species outcompete others. At Thompson, this risk has been reduced by planting trees in clusters, or “nests,” of 15 to 25 stems of the same species, helping to maintain diversity as the woodland develops.
Water and soil protection
Adjacent to the woodland creation site are several pingos, which are rare relict periglacial landforms. By transitioning the surrounding land from arable use to woodland and wood pasture, the project reduces surface water runoff which in turn protects the water quality of these rare and vulnerable habitats by lowering the risk of nutrients, chemicals and sediment depositing into them.
Tree protection and sustainable establishment
To manage deer and rabbit pressure while minimising plastic use, Maydencroft implemented a tiered protection strategy:
- Woodland Areas: Deer fencing, with rabbit netting clipped was installed at the perimeter of the woodland creation to ensure deer and rabbits could not enter the site, while vole guards were put over the whips to ensure they are protected from voles.
- Wood Pasture: Trees were planted in roundels of 100 tree per roundel, with 1.8m biodegradable tubes to protect them from deer browsing.
Maintenance programme
In accordance with Woodland Trust policy, no glyphosate is used for weed control. Instead, establishment is supported through:
- Inter-row Mowing: Conducted annually in May for three years post-planting for woodland phases.
- Strimming: Used for wood pasture areas where curved layouts preclude mechanical mowing.
- Beat-up and Restocking: Beat-up surveys take place each August for a further two seasons to assess survival rates across the site. The surveys identify which species are performing well and which are struggling, and provide an informed estimate of the number of trees requiring replacement due to expected losses, including those caused by weather conditions. The associated replacement planting is then carried out following each survey.
Social benefit and quality assurance
The delivery includes the creation of 5km of permissive paths that link to the wider public rights of way network, including the Pingo Way. This facilitates community access for recreation and wellbeing, responding to the increased public demand for managed outdoor spaces.
