Willmott Dixon has been awarded a £14.5 million contract by Forestry England to upgrade its tree nursery near Delamere Forest, Cheshire.

This marks the continuation of a long-standing partnership between the two organisations, following the successful completion of a timber-frame visitor welcome centre at the same location in 2020. The centre has enhanced the experience for the 750,000 people who visit the forest annually.

The latest project, procured through the Procurement Hub's Major Projects Framework, will focus on constructing a state-of-the-art seed extractory building. This facility will play a crucial role in Forestry England's efforts to produce millions of climate-resilient trees for future planting. The building will house advanced processing machinery and feature expanded cold and dry seed storage areas, designed to store several tonnes of seeds under optimal conditions before germination.

The upgrade aligns with Forestry England’s mission to improve the country's green infrastructure and ensure sustainable forest management in the face of climate change.

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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.

Imam Sayyed, Forestry England Head of Plant and Seed Supply, said: "This investment marks an exciting next phase in our nursery operation building a state-of-the-art seed extractory. We’re delighted to be working with Willmott Dixon who share our commitment to building sustainably. Forestry England is the leading tree seed supplier to the public and private sector and this investment builds our capacity to deliver high quality seeds in the decades ahead."