Author Tony Whitbread Government has now committed to keeping the public forest estate in public hands. This, however, is not the end of the matter. There are many good recommendations in the Independent Forest Panel report and we need to … Continue reading
Author Tony Whitbread The Independent Panel on Forestry’s report was published today and I have now had a chance absorb its contents. The headline is that, despite concerns to the contrary, the report clearly states that the forest estate should … Continue reading
Tony Whitbread takes you around Friston Forest in East Sussex, where Sussex Wildlife Trust are working in partnership with the Forestry Commission. Read Sussex Wildlife Trust’s response to the Forestry Panel Report There’s plenty of content about woodlands on the … Continue reading
Author Tony Whitbread It’s good to be wrong sometimes! I mentioned, in a previous blog, that the proposed forestry panel was going to comprise just five people. This turns out not to be the case – in fact it will … Continue reading
Author Tony Whitbread The sale of public forests may have been delayed and the consultation on the future of the estate has been closed, but the future of the Forestry Commission is still unsure. The government is now very aware … Continue reading
Author Tony Whitbread The problem with the current debate about the public forest estate is that it started in the wrong place. Admittedly it did attract a great deal of public interest, but instead of asking “how can we dispose … Continue reading
Author Tony Whitbread The current round of forest sales may have been postponed and the consultation on a new proposal for the public forest estate after 2014 cancelled but the future of the Forestry Commission is still unsure. The Forestry … Continue reading
Author Tony Whitbread It is welcome news that the government has changed its mind over the dismantling of the Forestry Commission. It might be a little uncharitable to call this a u-turn; the proposal was only a proposal and it … Continue reading
Author Tony Whitbread With the pressure to dispose of the public forest estate, you might be forgiven for imagining that the Forestry Commission is a fat, inefficient, bureaucratic body that spends huge amounts of public money but delivers little. Nothing … Continue reading
Author Tony Whitbread Some of the concerns about the Forestry Commission sell-off can be illustrated by taking an example and looking at how things might play out. Tilgate Forest is a conifer plantation just outside Crawley designated a “small commercial” … Continue reading
