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Tree felling underway to tackle larch disease

A south Wales attraction is due to close this weekend while Natural Resources Wales deal with larch disease in the area.

Forest Drive, a stretch of road through Cwmcarn Forest, will close to allow felling teams to carry out large-scale tree felling to remove over 50,000 tonnes of infected timber and forestry.

Around 1,300 hectares of larch trees have now been cut down in a bid to keep the disease in check and limit the damage Credit: ITV

The rest of the attraction however, including a visitor centre, play areas, footpaths and mountain bike trails, will remain open.

Read more: Natural Resources Wales: £2m to fight larch disease

The difficult decision to close the drive has been taken as the road will be used throughout the works by large forestry machinery and to transport felled trees out of the forest.

No decision has been made about the future of Forest Drive yet as it will require considerable investment to repair following the felling and haulage operations.

However, Natural Resources Wales is keen to reopen it if feasible and staff will be exploring all possible funding options to do this.

– Natural Resources Wales