The area still has some wooded areas, including some older trees. The old Russell Farm Wood, to the North East of the house, was the site of the 1835 railway tunnel disaster.
According to the WBC Planning Application document 23_00949_FULM ECOLOGICAL_ASSESSMENT-1147564.pdf the Local Wildlife sites include;
“Russell Lane Wood LWS, a semi-natural broadleaved woodland and dense hawthorn scrub in succession to woodland. There are remnants of English oak / beech woodland with ash and some large standards of common lime Tilia x europaea and horse chestnut. Wildlife Site criteria: Old secondary woodland with a semi-natural canopy and varied structure; >2 ha; woodland indicators”
“Greenbanks Wood LWS Ancient woodland site supporting a semi-natural, open, high canopy locally dominated by mature sweet chestnut with areas of ash, wild cherry and sycamore with some English oak, silver birch Betula pendula and holly. There is a large open glade of rough grassland in the middle of the wood. Wildlife Site criteria: Ancient woodland with a seminatural canopy and field evidence suggesting an ancient origin; shown on Bryant’s map (1822); >1 ha”
“Hempstead Road Wood LWS , an ancient woodland site with old secondary, possibly semi-natural, canopy of ash, hornbeam, and English oak, including some large old standards of oak and hornbeam, plus mature planted horse chestnut and beech. The shrub layer consists of elder, holly, and some hazel. Wildlife Site criteria: Ancient/old secondary woodland with a semi-natural canopy and field evidence suggesting an ancient origin; shown on Bryant’s map (1822); woodland indicators”
Tree Protection Orders for the area provide some information about significant trees in the area.
The old Russell House area still has trees that may have been standing for centuries. The collective TPO at Russells includes Tree species 3 Oak 2 Beech 1 Holly 1 Chestnut.
This diagram was included in a planning application – and shows some of the relevant trees.
