Timber as Ministers perform another yew turn

When Ministers revealed in autumn 2010 that they wanted to sell of hundreds of thousands of acres of the British forest to bolster the nation’s coffers there was an outcry that ran across society, with pop stars, TV presenters, actors and even the Archbishop of Canterbury denouncing the move as lunacy.

The sell-off would have left at risk some of the region’s most beloved woodlands – such as Dalby Forest, near Pickering, Holderness Wood, near Hebden Bridge, and Shirley Manor, near Wyke, in Bradford.

In what amounts to the latest in a succession of embarrassing U-turns, however, the Government yesterday confirmed it would not sell the public forest estate after an expert panel called for the 258,000 hectares of woodland to remain in public ownership.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman pledged “our forests will stay in public hands”.

The move comes after a Yorkshire Post investigation showed that thousands of sites of natural beauty in the region would have been at risk as private owners would have no legal requirement to preserve the nationally-important habitats.

The Government’s volte face follows a report from the Independent Panel on Forestry, set up after the outcry, which said the estate should remain in public ownership as land held in trust for the nation.

During its investigations it received more than 40,000 submissions from the public. The panel said the Government needs to value woodlands for all the benefits they provide for people, nature and the economy and to invest in the public forest estate to avoid having to sell woods to balance the books.

Responding to the report, Mrs Spelman said: “Our forests will stay in public hands. We will not sell the public forest estate.

“We’ll be talking to all those who are passionate about our forests to decide how we will manage our forests for the future.”

The Environment Department (Defra) also confirmed the planned sale of 15 per cent of the public forest estate, the most that can be sold off under existing legislation, would not go ahead.

The sale to raise up to £100m had been put on hold while the panel conducted its inquiry.

The independent panel said the public forest estate cost around £20m a year to the taxpayer – around 90p per household in England – but paid back an estimated £400m in benefits to people, nature and the economy.

The estimate does not include the intangible benefits forests provide such as connecting people with nature and preserving historic customs.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which campaigned hard against the sell off, was among those to welcome the change of heart.

Its chief executive Rob Stoneman said the Government should use the opportunity to give woodland protection a higher priority.

He said:  “The public forest estate is a tremendous national asset and has the potential to deliver even more benefits for wildlife and people. 

“The public forest estate has the potential to help achieve the objectives of last year’s Natural Environment White Paper through the integration, better protection, reconnection and restoration of woodlands.  That’s why we had hoped to see stronger recommendations from the panel, specifically the reconnection of woodlands at a landscape scale.

“We want to see stronger protection for existing woodlands, especially ancient woodlands, and more urgency in the restoration of open habitats.”

The Independent Panel said in its report that the Government must pioneer a new approach to woodlands and expand woodland cover from current levels of 10 per cent of England’s land area to 15 per cent by 2060.

It also said the amount being managed to a good standard should be increased from 50 per cent to 80 per cent over about the next 10 years.

Investment in small and medium businesses such as saw mills and furniture producers, through targeted support by the Government, could create up to 7,000 jobs in rural areas.

The panel’s chairman, Bishop of Liverpool the Rt Rev James Jones, said: “The panel’s work over the last year has shown that our woodlands, managed sustainably, can offer solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing society today.

“There is untapped potential within England’s woodlands to create jobs, to sustain skills and livelihoods, to improve the health and well-being of people and to provide better and more connected places for nature.”

Comment: Page 12.