From woodland creation to timber harvesting and sales; we help a range of landowners in the UK to sustainably manage their forests and woodlands.
Whether you need advice on creating a new woodland or need help maintaining and managing an existing established forest, we provide a comprehensive range of services that will ensure that your economic and environmental objectives are met.
Coombes are one of the largest timber harvesting companies in Southern and Central England. We deliver works across a range of woodlands, for a variety of clients, including a 5-year harvesting contract with Forestry England. We also help many smaller estate owners and managers with both clear-felling and thinning operations.
In addition, we have long-standing relationships with a wide network of wood processors, allowing us to find suitable markets for all categories of timber, from biomass and bedding to high-quality hardwood products. We're also 100% independent, so we guarantee that we will do all we can to obtain the best possible price for your timber.
Creating a forest or woodland from scratch takes a lot of careful consideration and planning, after all, you only get one shot at it.
Whether you're a landowner, government organisation, charity or trust, we will work alongside you to understand your long-term vision and objectives, before putting together a pragmatic and structured plan.
From personal experience, we've learnt that old equipment is unreliable and inefficient. This is why we constantly upgrade and replace our own forestry fleet of machines and equipment with the latest and best options available.
Not only does this ensure that the quality of our work is the best it can be, but they are also more fuel efficient and produce less emissions, making them kinder on the environment.
Besides large scale commercial forestry, we also support many smaller farmers, families and rural estate owners.
Using their skills and experience, our arborists provide manual and fully mechanised tree management services, such as coppicing, pollarding, thinning, and felling. As well as general vegetation and infrastructure maintenance including scrub cutting, hedge cutting, fence trimming, weed control with chemical solutions, and path and track maintenance.
Woodlands cannot be managed economically if they lack suitable access, it is, therefore, essential to establish a combination of surfaced and unsurfaced tracks to ensure sustainable forest management.
Working in conjunction with our Construction and Civils team we can plan, maintain and construct tracks that have minimal impact on the environment but still offer practical and robust access to sustain woodland productivity.
We can take care of the whole process of the felling license application process on your behalf, or simply offer advice on both thinning and clear-fell operations.
We can also help with restocking planning, to optimise future production, whilst also increasing habitat and species diversity.
Trees are at the forefront of the government’s plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and there are currently two main grant types to help reach this goal, the Countryside Stewardship scheme, and the new England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO).
As the name suggests EWCO, supports woodland creation and tree planting across England. Whereas the Countryside Stewardship grant supports landowners looking to create, restore or maintain existing woodland.
They both help fund the capital costs for the creation of woodland, followed by annual maintenance payments for the next ten years.
Our forestry team can help in the preparation of the initial application and formal management plans, both of which can be funded by grant assistance.
Ash dieback, caused by a fungus called Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (formerly known as Chalara fraxinea) is, unfortunately, becoming increasingly more widespread across the whole of the UK.
The infection can cause leaf loss and dead branches throughout the crown of ash trees, as well as clumps of new growth towards the centre of the crown. Affected trees located near high pedestrian traffic areas pose a serious safety risk to the public.
As a result of our investment in specialised machinery and attachments, we can safely dismantle or fell infected ash trees, even on difficult to access sites and challenging terrain.
Spruce, which accounts for around 60% of our conifer woodland area and is by far the UK's most commercial species, is at risk from Ips typographus, more commonly referred to as the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle. If left uncontrolled this beetle has the potential to be more devastating than those mentioned above.
With several offices in the South East including Bedgebury in Kent, Coombes are well placed to help deal with this threat.
We are committed to helping our clients operate responsibly and in line with all relevant legislation. We’re proud to offer a range of services that support environmental and ecological sustainability.
I would rate Coombes as not only competent and professional when dealing with difficult sites efficiently, but also a company who are friendly to deal with, put a great deal of effort into getting the job done right, with safety at the core of their operation.
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