Owning a house with woodland

Davesnave

AdrianC said:

Davesnave said:

As a continuation of earlier posts, I'd recommend a good battery chainsaw for general maintenance nowadays. Mine has a 14" bar and has taken down trees of nearly that girth. The lack of loud noise aids concentration.....and you do need to concentrate!

I did some hedgelaying with the local wildlife trust a while back, and they were using electric chainsaws.

TBH, they scared me far more than a petrol one, precisely because of the lack of noise. With a petrol one, you just know it's going to bite. The electric one was too stealthy.

There is something in that; it's harder to believe you have something potentially lethal in your hands, but the kick-back is more manageable which is another plus point. Alongside the road, the silence is  really helpful. No one wants to drop a tree on a car, but mistakes happen and I know of someone for whom that cost a great deal of £.

AdrianC

Davesnave said:

Alongside the road, the silence is  really helpful. No one wants to drop a tree on a car, but mistakes happen and I know of someone for whom that cost a great deal of £.

Mmm. If you're relying on hearing a vehicle coming, you're likely to squash an EV or bicycle or pedestrian...

I think I'll stick with having somebody in the road, telling me it's clear - and then dragging the trimmings out the way, rather than me having to leap down out the bank to do it before getting back in to cut the next one...

Brie

I have woodland envy!!  

But other than conservation orders etc I'd be checking if there are any rights of way or if you are allowed to fence in your portion. 

I wouldn't be over the moon about strangers inadvertently wandering on to my property though I might not mind the neighbours encroaching a bit (but just a bit). 

I wonder if it's an area for fungi foraging which may attract anyone.  Or if I wanted to get a dog would I need to contain it?  

amyr

Thanks all so much for the replies - all read and really appreciated. It's given a lot of food for thought!

SDLT_Geek

Newnoel said:

We have a largish plot at just under 3 acres, about 1/3 of which is covered in trees. This allowed us to claim mixed use Stamp Duty rates, which saved tens of thousands in tax. Worth asking your solicitor about.

The case law suggests it is not enough that there is "woodland" with a residential property for it to count as mixed use for the purposes of stamp duty land tax.  For mixed use usually there needs to be some independent use unconnected to the house, such as commercial forestry.  You could see for instance the How Development case.  https://financeandtax.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk/Aspx/view.aspx?id=12147  

Newnoel

SDLT_Geek said:

Newnoel said:

We have a largish plot at just under 3 acres, about 1/3 of which is covered in trees. This allowed us to claim mixed use Stamp Duty rates, which saved tens of thousands in tax. Worth asking your solicitor about.

The case law suggests it is not enough that there is "woodland" with a residential property for it to count as mixed use for the purposes of stamp duty land tax.  For mixed use usually there needs to be some independent use unconnected to the house, such as commercial forestry.  You could see for instance the How Development case.  https://financeandtax.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk/Aspx/view.aspx?id=12147  

Indeed. As I say, it is worth querying with your conveyancing solicitor as the law is a little opaque and it depends on your attitude to risk