Forest road planning is an essential service enabling ease of access to forests for various purposes and industries. Forest roads are crucial in facilitating activities such as timber harvesting, forest fire protection and recreation. Since all forest road construction projects must obtain consent from the Forest Service, it is important that forest road planning is carried out experienced chartered engineers to make sure the forest road and forest entrance is safe, satisfies Forest Service requirements and is carried out efficiently.
At G2 Chartered Engineers, we offer professional forest road and forest entrance planning services across Ireland. Our team of civil engineers have extensive experience in the planning and design of cost-effective forest roads, providing expert advice and a high-quality service you can rely on.
We offer full-service planning for forest roads and entrances to accommodate the full process from site survey, drawings to lodgement of application documents. Our services also include Single Consent Applications, Certificates of Completion, design and certification for Special Construction Works, such as bridges and culverts.
Forest Road Planning and The Single Consent System
From 7th February 2020, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine acts as the single consent authority for applications for forest road works licences. This applies to construction of forest entrances onto public roads (other than national roads) or the material widening of an existing entrance. This new system is called the ‘Single Consent System’ and replaces the traditional planning permission approach. In this case the services of a chartered civil engineer will be required to undertake the requirements of the Forest Service.
G2 Chartered Engineers can provide the following services, all in accordance with the relevant legislation and the Forest Service requirements:
- Provision of location maps
- Details plans of forest entrances
- Road condition survey
- Sightlines
- Drainage details and safety report
We currently work with several of Ireland’s leading forestry management companies. We look after the entire process, including all communications with the relevant authorities and relevant documentation.
To discuss your forest road single consent application or planning requirements, get in touch with our chartered engineers in County Carlow today.
Forest Road Specification & Annexe 2
G2 Chartered Engineers have extensive experience in completion of Forest Road Specifications, as part of the Forest Road grant aid scheme [Forest Roads Scheme 2014-2020].
In accordance with the scheme a qualified Civil Engineer or Engineering Surveyor must prepare the specification. This involves a G2 Civil Engineer visiting the site to survey and inspect the route of the proposed forest road. Following the inspection, the Forest Road Specification is completed as per Annex 2 of the documentation.
Forest Road Certification
On completion of the construction of a forest road or entrance, G2 Chartered Engineers can assist forestry owners in the licence application process and in the Certificate of Completion.
As chartered Engineers and specialists in forest road engineering, G2 are qualified to sign off on the ‘Certification of Completion’ that is required by the Forest Service, following construction of a new forest road entrance. As part of this process we will carry out an inspection of the newly constructed entrance and certify that all works have been carried out in accordance with the Forest Service requirements.
Where works are deemed to be unsatisfactory by G2, a report will issue to the client outlining remediation actions, prior to signing off on the ‘Certification of Completion’.
Special Construction Works
The experienced civil engineers at G2 are qualified and have extensive experience in design of ‘Special Construction Works’ [SCW] where it is required as part of the grand scheme.
Sometimes SCW are required to facilitate harvesting and extraction of timber and can include large culverts and/or permanent bridges. These elements must be designed and planned by a suitably qualified Chartered Engineer to ensure there is no adverse environmental impact and to ensure a value for money solution.
Get in Touch
Whatever your requirements are for planning forest entrances or forest roads, our chartered engineers have the solution. We aim to ensure that all forest road planning and design is carried out to the highest standard and in line with legal and Forest Service requirements.
Give our civil engineers in County Carlow a call on 059 9159797, send us a message using our online contact form, or email info@g2engineering.ie to let us know of your requirements.