General Chat

l personally think its horrendous and have emailed my local MP and signed the 38Degrees website petition. If you are interested look at this site:

https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/contribute/forest-email-mp-donate

Sorry if there is already a thread on here, if so l will delete this one.

jude :o)

There have been a couple of threads Jude, but think they have been deleted on Gen' maybe?

here is part of what i added to mine on chat a couple of weeks ago

"RamblingRose Request Review Edit Delete One Hour Ago

http://saveourforests.co.uk/how-to-help/

146,700 have signed the petition there to date. If you can , please do.

also please read

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/news-media/Pages/press.aspx

"Woodland Trust statement on Forestry Commission disposals"

Aw thanks RR, l will look at your links and delete this one. l guessed there wowuld have been but must have missed them!!

jude :o)

Leave this thread up Jude? and then perhaps it can be updated as things happen.

Okey dokey.....
There's going to be a Crunch Vote on Wednesday hopefully to get MP's to rethink.....(l bet you know that though :o))
Fingers crossed they see sense!!

jude:o)

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I have signed the petition and urge everyone who loves the countryside to do so too.

I signed the petition a couple of weeks ago. However I do see that they have a problem. The forests cost millions to manage, I wonder where the money is going to come from? So much of what the Forestry Commission does these days is not about raising money from selling the trees for wood. They put cycle paths etc into place and maintain picnic areas, footpaths, bridle paths etc while also managing the actual Forests. None of that brings in money. Maybe they should be looking at how to raise money to keep the forests. I see that they are not going to sell off the 'Heritage' forests such as Forest of Dean or the New Forest. However, I am not sure that, if they sell of any then the Heritage Forests will be next in line.

I suppose there would be more protests if they brought in permits for cycling/mountain biking and car parking etc. although i think some of the car parks you do have to pay now. at the larger beauty spots and picnic sites. Jude, i did see that they were talking of charging at Wench Ford Blakeney.

Hello Ann.., hope you're well :o)).......l see that point too, but here is what the the Woodlands Trust say....

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/campaigning/save-ancient-forests/Pages/fc-disposals-whats-the-problem.aspx

its quite interesting.

Myself l think they should be protected at all costs.
Or it will be like most building sites where new houses are going up....they say this that and the other will be done, views won't be hampered, they will be for the private market and before you know it the new estates are a shambles.....etc etc

and most frustrating of all we don't get a choice, they just do it!!

jude :o)

I'ved been signing all along and today sent letter to MP. They must be kept they are the lungs of our country.

Quite agree Chris...did you have a thread on this before?? :o)

jude

In the Citizen tonight I see that The National Trust have said they are willing to take on The Forest of dean if the people are agreeable. I am not sure what that would mean though.

Thanks Jude, interesting. Do I read it correctly that The Woodland Trust don't think the F Commission is looking after the ancient forests properly? If I do, then surely they should be passed to somebody else to look after them. Maybe the National Trust would do it.

It's should be a criminal offence for them to sell off bits of great britain bit by bit. Is there anything they won't sell for a quick buck.
They should remember when it's gone it's gone forever....
We need to speculate to accumulate not annihilate to finish off!
goes off and shakes my head.......

Thetford Forest is among the woodland being considered by a public consultation into proposals to sell off some of the country's forests.
Will they see the wood for the trees at Thetford Forest?
By REBECCA GOUGH
Thursday, January 27, 2011
1:00 PM



A major consultation launched today will seek to determine public feeling about a government proposal to privatise a large swathe of Forestry Commission land. REBECCA GOUGH took a closer look at what this could mean for the future of woodland in our region.
.
Ministers are finalising plans for a mass sale of forests which could potentially net the treasury hundreds of millions of pounds.

But the news has appalled users of the woodlands, including those at Thetford Forest which, in 2009, saw 120,000 people take advantage of its cycle and walking routes and open spaces.

Environment secretary Caroline Spelman today launched a public consultation into the proposals but with as much as half of Forestry Commission land potentially being privatised, what could be the country’s biggest land sale has prompted much debate – despite a lack of detail so far on how the changes could be implemented.

Anne Mason, chairman of the Friends of Thetford Forest Park (FOTFP), has ratcheted up a campaign to keep the forest open to everyone amid fears that privatisation would restrict access.

She hopes to persuade people to tick the Forestry Commission box when it comes to choosing potential owners – effectively maintaining the status quo.

“We have two primary concerns at the moment,” she said. “One is that we still haven’t had a guarantee from Caroline Spelman or Jim Paice [minister of state for agriculture and food] that in the public consultation the Forestry Commission will be included in any list of potential future owners.

“Our second concern is the Public Bodies Bill, which is in the House of Lords at the moment and has two clauses, 17 and 18, which would give the government the power to sell off the commission.

“We can’t reconcile the pubic consultation and the bill.”

She also raised concerns that if forestry staff were lost, essential skills would disappear which could affect the nation’s timber resources, wildlife and archaeology.

The Friends group has been working in the forest park for 15 years and sees itself as an example of the government’s own Big Society concept. But it says it could not carry out its work without the help and guidance of forest staff.

Nor could the volunteers, who have raised £90,000 since 1995, dedicate time and resourses to managing a commercially-run forest.

Ms Mason added: “Many of us on the committee are still in full-time work and we cannot give the number of hours needed to take on the management of what’s the largest lowland man-made forest in the country.”

South West Norfolk MP Elizabeth Truss said she did not believe the bill would affect Forestry Commission proposals but was in the process of arranging a meeting between Mr Paice and FOTFP for the group to air its concerns.

She added: “I understand the bio-diversity and access routes will be protected and that it will be economically beneficial.

“If that’s the case I think it’s a good idea to go ahead. I use Thetford Forest myself and I well understand what a great asset it is but I think we should be open-minded about how it can be managed better.”

There are those who agree with FOTFP though.

Currently, only walkers have an automatic right to access within private land which means horse riders, picnickers and campers, as well as thousands of other people, could be cut off if the forest were sold.

Carole Jackson, secretary for the Mid Norfolk Ramblers Association, said there was nowhere else like Thetford Forest within Norfolk. She added: “I think it’s a great concern because we’re used to using the forest and I can’t see there are any guarantees this space is going to be kept open. We want access to it in perpetuity really.

“In one breath they’re saying they want people to spend more time outdoors and walk and live a healthy life, and then they’re going to take away an area that’s used not just by walkers but families and cyclists.”

A letter was also released nationally last week, signed by almost 100 dignitaries who branded any sale unconscionable” and “ill-conceived”.

The signatories, organised by a new campaign group, Save England’s Forests, include Dr Rowan Williams; Carol Ann Duffy, the poet laureate; Dame Judi Dench, the Oscar-winning actress; and Bill Bryson, the author and president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

The campaigners’ letter stated: “Our forests nurture countless species of native plants and wildlife. We have relied on them since time immemorial yet we are only a heartbeat in their history. We who know the value of the forests fear that, over time, the public’s access to them will be limited and their protection, eroded.”

In addition, executive members of the Mid and South West Norfolk Liberal Democrat Constituency Parties voted unanimously in favour of retaining the status quo.

The Forestry Commission already runs itself as a business and, in its own words, has always “bought, leased and sold land as part of good asset management”.

In 2009 alone, 51 sites were sold, totalling 2,500 acres, with another ?37 woods covering 2,000 acres sold last year. In the current financial year, the Forestry Commission anticipates it will make around £13.5m from open market sales – focusing on sites with good sale value but where Forestry Commission ownership adds least value.

So why the need for a review of our forests?

In a letter to MPs announcing the decision to reform the forestry estate, Defra said: “We are committed to shifting the balance of power from big government to big society by giving individuals, businesses, civil society organisations and local authorities a much bigger role in protecting and enhancing the natural environment and a much bigger say about our priorities for it.”

While it went on to say grant systems would be in place and access and rights of way would be unaffected, there are thousands of members of the public who believe otherwise.

An online petition has collected more than 171,000 signatures, while community groups and individual users continue to ratchet up awareness on the issues sacrificing access could have.

But West Suffolk MP Matthew Hancock said he believed there could be benefits to the sale of Thetford Forest.

“When the government gives reassurances like that it takes that very seriously,” he said.

“Having been to Thetford Forest and spoken to people who run privately owned parts of the forest I don’t think it would have a very big impact.

“At the moment much of our wood is imported for high value products like construction timber. In Thetford, it’s used for wood fuel or low value products like fence posts. In terms of the economy we could get a lot more out of it and use it for high value usage and I think that’s what’s part of the proposals.”

A Defra spokesman added: “We will consult on our proposals this week to invite interest from a wide range of potential private and civil society partners on a number of new ownership options and the means to secure public benefits. No decisions have been taken on any particular sites.

“We will not compromise the protection of our most valuable and bio-diverse forests.

The Forestry Commission has and will play an important role in protecting and expanding the trees, woods and forests in England.”

*The public consultation on the future of the public forest estate in England runs for 12 weeks until April 21.

*You can see the consultation document on the website www.forestry.gov.uk/england-pfeconsultation or www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/forests/index.htm.

Or you can request a hard copy by ringing 0845 3673787 or writing to Public Forest Estate Consultation Co-ordinator, Forestry Commission England, 620 Bristol Business Park, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1EJ.

Thetford Forest is lovely and part of our heritage, lots goes on there and it would be very sad if things changed for the worst.

Lizx

Morning.....

Thanks Li....l tried to read it all and take it in (bit early for me..lol).

Ann....they may well be, they are certainly saying how concerned they are. There is so little time, if the sales go through and it does'nt work, the Forests could be lost for ever!!

l'm off out now, be back tonight:o)

Dizzie...yes thats how l got to vote, l have sent it on to others:o) Thanks:o)

jude :o) x

The point being, apart from the sale of woodland, how long will it be before the new owners of the land, which is the main base for the sale, not the wood, would be asking for planning permission to build houses on the land and asking for roads, shops and schools? I know that it will be big industialists who buy and they do nothing without financial gain. It wont be Societies who would keep the forests intact, they wont have sufficient money.

Just received reply from my MP. He is against this as well, however he did mention something - that 25,000 acres of forest have been sold in the past 13 years. Also he has just received notification that they have secured another meeting with DEFRA for this evening.

Yes Chris, On Countryfile last Sunday there was a piece about a forest in the north of the Lake District (name eludes me at the moment) This was sold some time back and, although there is a footpath through, there is no right to walk freely in the trees because of the dangers from tree felling. They are, however, re-planting young trees to make a part of the forest accesible to the public, but it will be a few years before it matures.