The County Council want to sell a Local Nature Reserve, Rede Wood on the borders of Henley, Barham and Claydon.   The professional view of the wood is that “It is  a fairly typical small semi-natural boulder clay woodland of about 18 acres consisting of pendunculate oak, ash, some field maple, with a hazel dominated coppiced under-wood   It has an interesting and important flora, largely connected with the coppice-with-standards management system.  This includes 38 species that are believed indicative of ancient woodland and 30 species listed in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan are present mainly species of bird and mammals.” 

The County have already sold the adjoining but seperate High House Farm buildings and farmland for which we believ they have received a good price and have received a round of bids for the woodland from both private and public organisations. A number of local people – councillors, local parish chairmen, representatives of local schools (users of the wood) and residents have got together in order to pressure the County Council to hand over the wood to a party who would ensure that it remained a community resource in perpetuity.  The Council have as a result set a new set of conditions for the sale of the wood and have invited a second round of bids.     

I want to let you know that we have now formalised the community group as Friends of Rede Wood . We have adopted a constitution and appointed the necessary officers.  

After much discussion among a number of like minded organisations it is likely that there will be a community based bid supported by Mid Suffolk District Council, the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Friends of Rede Wood.  The bid would propose involving Otley College, who have managed the wood for the county,  in the future management of the Wood.  We believe that such a bid should give the County Council an attractive community-based alternative to any cash bid received from private individuals.   It would meet the government aims of devolving control of local assets to local community groups. 

Friends of Rede Wood have set out a number of objectives for themselves (see below).  To be effective we need to extend our membership   If you are a member of the local community and would be prepared to add your name as a member please email me.  We need to do this quickly as the final bids have to be with the County Council on 21st January.  If you wish to find out more please join us at the Henley Community Centre at 7.30pm on Sunday 16th January.  

   Objectives of Friends of Rede Wood   

• to protect and preserve Rede Wood as an educational and community resource;  
• to assist with its management in order to protect and to further its ecological character and quality;  
• to campaign to ensure that it continues to be open to the public in a reasonable way, compatible with the preservation and protection of its flora and fauna;  
• to raise funds in the interests of the wood and its users.