Newtyle Land Management Plan

Newtyle is located near Forres in Moray, with the main access point roughly a mile west of the village Rafford. The forest is mostly made up of conifers, planted originally for timber, with Scots pine the most common tree species.

The current 10-year LMP expired on 12 February 2025. We’ve started the review process, and this first consultation invites your views. We’re asking stakeholders – including statutory bodies, third sector groups, businesses, neighbours and individuals – to share their thoughts on how Newtyle should be managed over the next 10 years.

If you’d like to send us your feedback but aren’t sure where to start, you could think about the following questions:

• What’s your connection to this place?
• Why is this place important to you?
• Is there a significant feature or issue we should know about?

This plan is at an early draft stage, but a few key objectives have been identified. You can find more detail in the stakeholder consultation document, linked at the bottom of the page.

• Timber production will likely stay a key focus in this area. Large parts of the forest are currently being managed under Low Impact Silvicultural Systems which produces a reliable source of timber via well timed thinnings and group fellings. Other areas of Newtyle which aren’t suitable for managing using these systems will be phased for clearfell operations when they are most commercially viable.
• There is a large area of peatland restoration planned for Romach Hill to help deliver our climate change mitigation commitments. Delivering this scheme and carrying out any maintenance on the recently completed restoration at Bogawood will be a key outcome for the next plan period.
• Broadleaf species only make up 4% of the total tree cover in this forest, we'll aim to raise this to at least 5% within the next ten years.

The timeline for the plan review is shown below. The consultation periods highlighted will mainly take place online. We’ll contact stakeholders and neighbours directly and place signs at forest entrances with details about how to get involved.

• July to August 2025: Initial scoping, including public consultation (28 days)
• August 2025: Preparation of the draft plan
• September to October 2025: Final stakeholder scoping and public consultation on draft proposals (28 days)
• October to November 2025: Preparation of the final plan and submission to Scottish Forestry for approval (the submitted LMP will be available on their public register)

• Land management plan
• Map 1 - location
• Map 2 - key features
• Map 3 - current species
• Map 4 - management coupes
• Map 5 - future habitats and species
• Map 6 - thinning coupes
• Map 7 - thinning approvals
• Map 8 - soils
• Map 9 - timber haulage
• Map 10 - deadwood ecological potential
• Map 11 – peat restoration
• Map 12 – wildfire risks and mitigation
• Map annotations
• Appendix 1 - consultation record
• Appendix 2 – peat restoration plan
• Appendix 3 - restock prescriptions
• Appendix 4 - deer management plan