The new project for Forestry England includes a new seed extractory building that will produce seeds for millions of high-quality, climate-resilient trees in the decades ahead. It will be equipped with the best available processing machinery alongside providing expanded areas for cold and dry seed storage that will enable several tonnes of seeds to be stored in the best conditions before germination and planting.
The new facility, due to open in spring 2025, will be the largest in the UK, testing and processing up to four tonnes of tree seeds each year. It will replace Forestry England’s current seed extractory at Alice Holt Forest which was built in 1964. Funding for the upgrades is being made available from the Defra Nature for Climate Fund with Forestry England contributing.
The development will allow Forestry England to process more seed from a greater variety of tree species located in 13 specially planted orchards and 39 seed stands in the nation’s forests. Focus species include more Douglas fir, western red cedar and Norway spruce because they are expected to grow well and produce high quality timber in England’s future climate conditions.
This will produce a secure supply of high-quality tree seed from diverse species over the years ahead to significantly improve availability for UK nurseries and reduce the number of seed imported from overseas. It will benefit the UK forestry sector as a whole and plays a major part in boosting diversity in timber producing tree species.
Adopting best practice construction principles, the facility has been sustainably designed to achieve excellent levels of environmental performance and will be net zero carbon in operation.
