Forest Ownership U-Turn?

Forest ownership

Good morning all, Just caught the end of the news and think i heard them say that the government have abandoned plans to sell of the public forests to private entities. Can anyone shed some light on this. Could it be that public opinion has won out?
 
I suspect they have realised that its not worth the money made going through all the promised consultations. It isnt over yet, it will probably end with a rump FC remaining as the authority for woodlands but not owning much as its parcelled off under the radar over the next 10 or so years. Dont think that a change in Govt would end it either, when Maggie was sec for education she closed more Grammar schools than the previous Wilson Govt had. Acts of parliament to make laws cost a lot in time and repealling them almost as much. For every repealled act there will be another to replace it and its all parliamentary time!
 
Good morning all, Just caught the end of the news and think i heard them say that the government have abandoned plans to sell of the public forests to private entities. Can anyone shed some light on this. Could it be that public opinion has won out?


Yep, the government has made a U turn and has abandoned any sell off of woodlands. Public opinion and common sense has won out. Fantastic news - all round.
 
February 2011 01:28pm
The Government is expected to abandon controversial plans to sell off thousands of hectares of forest in England.
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman is to announce that a consultation into the proposals is being halted.
Instead a new panel of experts will reportedly be created to examine public access to the woodland and biodiversity issues.
David Cameron heralded the about-turn at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, when he stated bluntly that he was unhappy with the policy.
Selling more than 250,000 hectares run by the Forestry Commission was intended to give the private sector, communities and charities greater involvement in woodland. But the suggestion has attracted cross-party opposition and sparked a public outcry. Critics argued it threatened public access and could lead to forests being damaged.
The proposals to sell England's forests were introduced as ministers felt the Forestry Commission should not be the regulator and the biggest player in the timber industry at the same time.
The move to offload the country's forests also fitted in with the "Big Society", reducing the role of government and giving communities more say in the management of their local assets. Some £140-250 million would also have been raised from selling the leaseholds of the commercially valuable forests.
But ever since the plans were first leaked, rumours spread that development would be allowed and people would lose access to woods. The Government denied this, saying heritage forests would have been protected by being put in the hands of charities to care for them on behalf of the nation.
The Woodland Trust welcomed the U-turn but warned the campaign to protect and restore England's ancient forests must go on. Sue Holden, chief executive of the trust, said: "We welcome the opportunity for a more considered approach to the future of our much-loved woodlands but our campaign continues."
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "The sorry saga of the forest sell-off demonstrates how incompetent and out of touch this Government is. Virtually every person in the country could see selling off our forests was a foolish and short-sighted policy but they went ahead regardless. Now they are panicked into a retreat hours after Mr Cameron said they would carry on with their consultation."

Does this mark a sea-change?

Is forestry finally to be conceded as being all about public parkland, to be offset against national Carbon output (or some such psuedo-scientific babble) and all pretense that it was actually for the primary production of timber put into the true perspective of that being the secondary output/by-product rather than true raison d'etre?
 
I suspect they have realised that its not worth the money made going through all the promised consultations. It isnt over yet, it will probably end with a rump FC remaining as the authority for woodlands but not owning much as its parcelled off under the radar over the next 10 or so years. Dont think that a change in Govt would end it either, when Maggie was sec for education she closed more Grammar schools than the previous Wilson Govt had. Acts of parliament to make laws cost a lot in time and repealling them almost as much. For every repealled act there will be another to replace it and its all parliamentary time!

This is the way I see it going. The government will now not sell off the forrests. Yippeeeeee, a victory for common sense and public will, yes? No. The gov't will now instruct the F.C. to sell off the woodlands over the next few years, quietly and without fuss. There will then be a regular round of unanounced redundancies in the FC. Go on, call me an old pessimist:-|
 
When the supposedly beaten dog slides underneath, just be sure that there is not a purpose before you begin cheering - that of chewing your gonads or neck out ! Using politics to run a country to its optimum level never worked from the word 'GO' in Roman times. It was always about winning.
 
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