Government plans to sell-off England’s national forests could have enormous
impact on the leisure industry, writes Casper ter Kuile of campaign group 38 Degrees.
"A new law going through the House of Lords would allow ministers to sell up to 100% of England’s remaining publicly-owned forests and woodlands. Similar
proposals were blocked by the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament after
concerns raised about public access to private land and the standard of
woodland management outside of national ownership.
Opposition to the plan has been widespread. The number of signatures on a
petition run by 38 Degrees passed the 200,000 mark this
month, and comes on the back of a YouGov poll revealing that 75% of the
British public reject Government plans for the forest sell-off and that
opposition comes from across all ages, regions and political affiliations.
Plans put forward by Tory minister Jim Paice would spell danger for
horse-riders, cyclists and wheelchair users as privately-owned woodland does
not require anything more than a single style to access the forests.
National treasures such as Sherwood Forest and the Forest of Dean, as well
as recently-reclaimed industrial sites that have been transformed into local
woodland, could all be sold off.
Forest of Dean
A government consultation has been launched, but executive
director of 38 Degrees David Babbs said: “The government consultation looks like it’s asking the wrong question. They are asking us how the forests should be privatised. But most of us don’t want our forests privatised at all. Our campaign will keep growing until the government listens and protects our woodlands for future generations".”
Public opposition to the auction of national forests has stopped similar
plans before. The Labour Government’s forestry consultation in 2008 was
overwhelmingly in favour of keeping land in public hands. Proposals put
forward to save money in a recession in 1992 by John Major’s Conservative
government also planned to put forests into private ownership. Those plans
crumbled in the face of widespread public opposition."
