Durham Cathedral’s Heritage Woodlands and Riverbanks

The Heritage Woodlands and Riverbanks of Durham Cathedral form part of the stunning Durham Peninsula and provide the setting for the Durham, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The current wooded environment is believed to be a planned landscape dating back to the 18th Century. Today, it is over mature and in need of substantial investment to transform its structure and give the woodland a sustainable future. Whereas healthy sustainable woodland would include a diverse range of trees of different ages, allowing succession and maintenance of the canopy structure, this is not occurring in the project area. The woodland lacks structural and age diversity, and has a virtually closed canopy with poor light penetration. This prevents the development of a diverse understory, shrub layer, field layer and ground flora.

During the project, an extensive range of woodland management activities will be undertaken to improve the structure and condition of the woodland. These activities will support the BAP Plan.