Diseased larch trees to be felled at Gwydir Forest

Tree felling operations will start at Llyn Geirionydd in Gwydir Forest on Monday, June 19, for a period of three months.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is carrying out the work under a Statutory Plant Health Notice after a number of larch trees have become infected with Phytophthora ramorum, commonly known as larch disease.

A total of 2.9 hectares will be felled from an area around Llyn Geirionydd and for safety reasons the public footpath along the lake’s western shore will need to be closed for the duration of the works.

The trees will be removed from the site via Glyn Farm to the A5, at Capel Curig.

No work will take place at weekends and contractors working on behalf of NRW will be putting signage in place to inform visitors.

Kath McNulty, NRW’s Team Leader for Forest Operations in North West Wales, said:

“To comply with the notice, the trees will need to be removed to stop any further spread of the larch disease. “Due to the location of the site, the work requires access management to keep everyone safe. This unfortunately means the closure of the public footpath on the western side of Llyn Geirionydd. “Our harvesting operations take full account of the presence of, and possible impact on any protected species, and their habitat.  “Haulage restrictions will be in place meaning there will be no trees removed at weekends and public holidays and we will work to reduce the impact on the local community wherever possible, but our priority is to keep everyone safe. “We would like to thank members of the public in advance for their co-operation and understanding.”

Residential and agricultural access will remain open at all times but may be subject to short delays while timber lorries are uplifting.

If you have any enquiries, please contact North West Wales’ Forest Operations Team on 0300 065 3000 or email ForestOperationsNorthWest@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk