Regeneration at Stakehill

Work is being carried out to improve the long-term condition and biodiversity of Stakehill Plantation, a shelter break, at the moorland junction of Hole Lane, Heights Lane and Dennis Lane. Some 100 of the 500 trees, predominantly sycamore, are being felled in two stages, this year and next, so that light can penetrate and allow ground-cover plants and trees to regenerate naturally. To minimise disturbance, logging horses worked by Peter and Carole Coates, of Cottingley, are doing the fetching and carrying. They are pictured above with Murphy, an experienced working cob. As the Airedale Woodman, Peter is regenerating the plantation on behalf of Bradford council, which probably inherited the 2-acre wood from Silsden in 1974. Up to 1947, it was owned by the Skipton Estate. The improvements will benefit flora and fauna, and brash (the small branches) is being left as habitats for wildlife and insects.