• What is the current situation?
18% of woodland in England is currently part of the of the Forestry Commission Estate , this accounts for 44% of accessible woodland in England. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have announced that they are establishing an independent Panel to consider forestry policy in England. The Panel will advise the Secretary of State on the future direction of forestry and woodland policy in England, on the role of the Forestry Commission, and on the role of the Public Forest Estate. The Panel will include representatives of key environmental and access organisations alongside representatives of the forestry industry. The Ramblers is keen to engage with this process.
• What was the Government proposing?
The proposals are for a “mixed model approach” with differing styles of wood being sold in different way, around 25% of the Forestry Commission estate is being deemed as Heritage and community forest which will be given to charities to run and a 150 year lease for the large Kielder Forest in Northumberland is also planned. The rest, around half of the estate will be sold. A map of where these are can be found as part of the consultation
• Transfer of ownership to a charitable organisation
This would apply to heritage and community forests and would be a transfer of ownership or management via a trust arrangement or lease. The transfer would be at no cost to the new owner. The consultation notes that this is likely to require ongoing funding from Government in return for the public benefits but “would be expected to become less reliant on Government support over time”. Named locations are the New Forest and the Forest of Dean.
• Sale to community and civil society group
This sale would be via “Community Right to Buy” provisions in the Localism Bill and could include local community informal groupings, local or national interest groups, local government and other public bodies, but how this works is not included in this consultation:
“Exact details of how the Community Right to Buy scheme will work will be consulted on from February to April 2011 and set out in secondary legislation later this year”
But “Any sale would be at the open market value” and “community groups would be given a window of opportunity to express their interest in buying”
• Long-term leases for commercially valuable forests to commercial operators
The plans included a 150 year lease for the large Kielder Forest in Northumberland but this lease would come with conditions to safeguard public benefits which may include “to continue to allow current levels of public access”.
Together this “mixed model approach” could leave roughly ½ of all forests (small commercial forests and multi-purpose forests) with no guaranteed access.
• What is CRoW and how does it relate?
The Forestry Commission has dedicated around 77% of its estate in England, to allow full public access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. DEFRA has guaranteed that this access will remain with any sales.
Information on CRoW and access land can be found: http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Resources/Ramblers%20Association/AccessFactSheet-FS8.pdf
• What is the likelihood of access land being bought by golf course or housing developers?
CRoW access land does not give any additional protection above what is already covered by extensive planning laws. However, most woodland in England has some form of protection both under environmental and planning legislation, so the approval for a change of use is unlikely.
• Why should debate focus more on access than sales?
Only 18% of English woodland is currently part of the Forestry Commission Estate and not all of this has been dedicated to allow full public access. It is therefore vital that any debate about the future of the estate should start by focussing on improving public access, and the benefits that Forestry Commission management of these sites currently provides to the public. The Government’s claims in the media about all public benefits being protected in any sales do not stand up to scrutiny. The Ramblers opposition to sales is therefore based on rational policy-making, and a concern to maximise public benefits and protect woodland walks. Not all land that has public access has to be in public ownership (most accessible land is in private hands). There is woodland that is currently owned by private landowners or community groups who do ensure access for users such as Ashdown Forest in Sussex
• What about permissive access?
The consultation does not guarantee current permissive access but - “Where there is currently permissive access, for example by bike and horse, we will seek to secure equivalent rights as part of any transfer to new owners and managers”. Permissive access can and has in the past been removed by new landowners very fast and gives no security of access.
• What about other users?
The Ramblers feels that the more people who can enjoy the countryside the better, we work with other users to get the best access for all and will do so to ensure that access is at the top of the agenda when sales are considered.
• What about the public benefits of Forestry Commission land in providing facilities such as signs, toilets and carparks?
These are all provided for on a permissive basis and any new landowner can remove them, which is why the Ramblers are against the proposals as they currently stand.
• What about Forestry Commission land in Scotland and Wales?
These proposals concern the public forest estate in England. The woodland managed by the Forestry Commission in Wales and Scotland is the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly Government and Scottish Government, and there are currently no plans to sell these estates.
• What can I do to get involved?
Please visit our take action pages for information on what we are asking you to do to protect access to the woodland where you walk.
