Rotherfield Estate have provided the following update on Noar Hill:

"We are very pleased to be able to welcome you back to Noar Hill. Thank you for your patience whilst we have undertaken essential tree safety felling works. We appreciate that it looks significantly different to your last visit, we ask that you give nature time to regenerate before making judgement on our work.
We have had to undertake significant felling of ash trees infected with ash dieback that were posing a safety risk to you as users of the rights of way. These trees were regularly falling across the rights of way which had become impassable and not fit for purpose in many areas. We have felled trees using specialist machinery, up to 2 tree lengths from the paths as per industry best practice. All our work on the SSSI was consented by Natural England and covered by a felling licence from the Forestry Commission.
You will notice that we have left the brash from our tree felling on site. This is an obligation of our SSSI consent from Natural England and provides a vital dead wood habitat for woodland species. We have tried to make this look as neat as possible using the space available to us.
Saleable wood from this operation has been extracted and sold into the timber market to offset some of the significant cost of this operation. Due to the ground conditions, we will need to return once it has dried up in the spring to complete this. This will not entail further closures.
We have reinstated the rides and rights of way post our operation to leave a clean, level surface. Due to the recent wet weather, it will be muddy this winter and I am afraid there is nothing that we can do about that. With the increased light levels reaching the path surface, we expect this to dry out quickly in the spring and slowly vegetate over.
As part of our operation, we have taken the opportunity to review and rejuvenate the rights of way infrastructure and are very grateful to Hampshire County Councils Rights of Way team and volunteers for their work providing and installing new signage.
We are seeing our enforced operation here as an opportunity to revitalise both the rights of way and the woodland itself. The wide rides and edges that we have created will allow light to reach new areas of the woodland floor, encouraging natural regeneration of both woodland trees and plants, which in turn support woodland fauna. The open ride network provides a wildlife corridor for species such as butterflies and bats, connecting habitats on Noar Hill with the wider landscape. The wide rides also now facilitate our access to ensure that we can maintain the rights of way network and manage the woodland going forwards both safely and efficiently.
We would like to thank Blackmoor Estate, Grange Farm and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust for their help and patience with carrying out this operation."