Hands Off Our Forest A campaign to keep the Forest of Dean out of private hands Home page | About Hoof | News | Information | Your Comments | Archives | Contacts AGAIN hands off our forest We believe that public ownership of the Public Forest Estate must be secured through new legislation. The rich cultural, historical and natural diversity of our forests and woods, and full access to them, is best protected under the continued steward-ship of the Forestry Commission, fully resourced to sustainably manage and expand our multi-purpose public forest estate now and in the future NEW Mon 8th Sept 2014 SO YOU THOUGHT OUR FORESTS WERE SAFE! The proposed Infrastructure bill is every bit as dangerous to the future of the Forest of Dean as the original Public Bodies bill which we forced the Government to scrap following the march in the snow back in 2011 MAKE NO MISTAKE - UNLESS WE ACT TO SECURE AN EXEMPTION FOR OUR PUBLIC FORESTS, THEY CAN BE SOLD OFF - WHICH IS WHAT THIS GOVERNMENT WANTED ALL ALONG. Please lobby members of the House of Lords and urge them to support the amendments that will exempt the public forests from this dangerous bill. Details of how to do this below:- Why you must write: In November, the Lords will again debate crucial amendments to the Infrastructures bill. This bill, if unamended, will give the Secretary of State the power to take land from the Public Forest Estate - including any part of the Forest of Dean - and sell it to developers. If this sounds familiar, it is because it is! It is exactly what the Public Bodies bill proposed back in 2010 and which we all fought so hard to successfully oppose. Our MP, Mark Harper, has refused to support these vital amendments. The Government say it is not their intention to take any of the public forests - but worryingly, do not want to enshrine this in law. That is why these amendments are vital. What to write: HOOF have prepared a specimen letter you can send which you can download here as a PDF or here as a Word document and copy and paste into an email or letter. However, we strongly recommend that you alter it to make it personal, it is much more effective. If you make the opening paragraph personal then it will be clear to the recipient straight away that you are writing as an individual and it is not part of a mass mailing. Who to write to: parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/ There are 777 members of the House of Lords, so don’t try to write to them all! The best ones to choose would be the Cross Benchers and the Lib Dems. No need to write to the Labour members and no point writing to the Conservatives, as if there is a vote it will be whipped. So write as many as you have time for. And Baroness Jan Royall tells us that whoever else you write to, it would be good to send one to Lord Greaves. Go to the official website below where it tells you who is who, their email address and the correct title to address them by. You can of course also write a postal letter, which is more bother to do but is very effective. parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/ -------------------------------- Wednesday 1st January 2014 2013 Here we go again! When HOOF, back in February, broadly welcomed the Governments response to the Forestry Panel Report, we said at the time that the devil would be in the detail. We now know that the detail is very devilish indeed. Far from embracing the forestry panels recommendation to put the English forests into the hands of a body of independent, non-political guardians, thus safeguarding them for the foreseeable future, the Government proposals make it clear they want a minister to have total control. How is this different from the original ill-fated Public Bodies bill that we all helped smash? Not only will this unleash the spectre of privatisation once again, but it will leave the forests, and the Forest of Dean, prey to the whim of whatever government is in power. The Government has a chance to do the decent, fair and moral thing by putting our forests out of the reach of the greedy and unscrupulous, but Im afraid it has blown it. That is why HOOF is meeting as a matter of urgency and why we must all keep up the pressure on the government to abide by their word and do the right thing. Wednesday 6th February 2013 Seeing The Woods For The Trees An opinion piece by Robin Maynard Writing about how the Government was forced into its historic U turn, Robin Maynard says: It was Big Society ...those half a million people who signed 38 Degrees ‘Save Our Forests’ on-line petition; the dog-walkers, horse-riders, mountain-bikers, fresh-air seeking families; the former mining communities fighting for reforested spoil-heaps, local saw mills dependent on the timber from well-managed FC woods - and especially, the communities living within and working amidst them , the various ‘friends of forests’ groups, amplified by the efforts of Save Our Wood , HOOF and Our Forests. Read the full article here Tuesday 15th January 2013 Politics and the Panel An opinion piece by Roderick Leslie As the Government’s response to the Independent Panel approaches it’s clear there is only one way out of the political mess the Conservatives landed themselves in. That is to understand, accept and take action to turn the panel’s views into policy ... Read the complete piece here Friday 11th January 2013 COMMENT A drop in the ocean - but a green world of difference £22 million per year. Thats what it costs to keep the Forestry Commission and all the English public forests going. It sounds a lot to you and me, but in the rarified world of government finance it is nothing. It works out at just 30p per year per taxpayer! This is stunning value for money when compared to other important and life-enhancing facilities such as opera, the arts, sport, etc, all of which cost far more. It is a win win situation for the government and for all of us. For a mere 30p a year, which the public has demonstrated they are more than happy to pay, we get free access to our glorious forests, the lungs of the world, the emerald spaces that calm and revive. Compare that to what you spend a year on, say, TV, cinema, books, or beer and it looks like a no-brainer. In fact, there is evidence that people would pay more if it meant having an effective and properly funded Forestry Commission who could conduct research into, and prevent, some of the tree diseases that have caused so much devastation recently. If, as has been rumoured, the government is thinking of running down the Forestry Commission even further and cutting the public funding to our forests by passing on the costs to charities or private concerns - an unacceptable strategy that will seriously jeopardising the future of our forests - it will be guilty of letting down the English people for countless generations to come. And if, as is also rumoured, the Government makes no provision to recognise the special and unique situation of the Forest of Dean and protect its status by legislation, they will find they have misjudged the mood of the people once again. Saturday 28th August 2012 Foresters celebrate their victory - but speakers sound warning note This Government cannot be trusted one inch, said keynote speaker Jonathon Porritt On Saturday 28th July Foresters from all walks of life celebrated the independent panels report at Speech House with local musicians, invited speakers and a hog roast and bar. Forester editor Viv Hargreaves introduced the speakers, HOOF chairman Rich Daniels, Baroness Jan Royall, campaigner Jonathon Porritt and Sir Harry Studholme, one of the members of the independent panel whos report backed HOOFs stance to keep the English Forests out of private hands. Rich Daniels Jonathon Porritt Jan Royall Harry Studholme Local musicians Bob Smith, Forest of Dean Brass, Asha Faria-Vare, Max, Gorg n Zola, Muddy Summers, Mike Edwards, and Folklaw performed, and Keith Morgan entertained us with his stories. Mike Smith Asha Faria-Fare Max ----------------------------------- NEWS... Wednesday 27th June 2012 ENGLANDS FOREST COMMUNITIES WARN GOVERNMENT In a strongly worded statement, a consortium of Our Forests, HOOF and many other forest community groups has warned the Government to expect ...a conflagration in constituencies across England. if they do not listen to the public, and press ahead with their original plans to take our woodlands out of public ownership. For further details see our lead article, centre column, this page You can read or download the full document here Wednesday 27th June 2012 38 DEGREES LAUNCHES EMERGENCY PETITION 38 Degrees, whose online petition raised many thousands of signatures in support of keeping our woodland in public ownership, have just launched a new emergency petition on the eve of the Independent Panels report, due out on the 4th July. You can add your name to the new petition here: Tuesday 22nd May 2012 WOODLANDS CAN BE SOLD OFF FROM 4th JULY SAYS GOVERNMENT On July 4, when the Government-appointed panel is due to publish its final report, the suspension of woodland sales is also due to be lifted. Outlying woods in the Forest of Dean could be among those of the 40,000ha, or 15 per cent, of woodland the Government has said it intends to sell. Monday 21st May 2012 FORESTRY PANEL FINAL REPORT DUE OUT 4th JULY The proposed date for the final report is 4th July Whatever the panels conclusions, we must be vigilant. Even if they give us everything we hope for, there is no obligation on Government to accept its findings, so we must be prepared to continue the battle to save our forests for future generations. The latest Forestry Panel newsletter can be downloaded in PDF format here. ------------------------------------------------ 11th August 2011 Excellent response to HOOFs request for your views to the Independent Panel The Independent Forestry Panel (see main article lower down on right) made it clear they wanted YOUR views and WILL take them into account. The deadline for submissions ended on the 31st July and indications are that many hundreds of Foresters have written to the panel, many using the HOOF websites form. It would also appear that the vast majority of people writing to the panel from the Forest of Dean expressed their confidence in the Forestry Commission and actually wanted the amount of forest land owned by the public and managed by the FC to increase. A huge thank you to everyone who wrote in. The Panel were very impressed with the depth of feeling here in the Forest when they visited in June and will be even more impressed with the submissions. -------------------------------------- For all this and more go to our News section And now you can visit our Archives page for all those stories you may have missed. HOOF CD NOW AVAILABLE! BUY ONE NOW AS A MUST-HAVE MEMENTO OF OUR STRUGGLE But be quick - they will soon be a collectors item! click image to BUY NOW HANDS OFF features songs by: Billy Bragg & Heathens All; Forest Brass; Dick Bryce; Mike Edwards; Bob Smith; Max; Asha Faria-Vare; Ghost of a Dog and Roger Drury & Friends This CD specially made for HOOF can be bought, priced £5, from the Forest Bookshop in Coleford, Forester office in Cinderford, Forest Review office in Lydney, Brierley Service Station, the Miners Arms in Whitecroft and at various events. It can also be ordered online, priced £6 including post and packaging, from the Poet Pilot web site here The site also includes detailed information about the CD £4 from each CD will go to the HOOF fighting fund Many thanks to Mike Edwards who produced the CD, all the Forest artists who play on it and Billy Bragg, who kindly allowed us to use the song This Land from his latest album. HOOF Rally 3rd Jan Images, text and links to other reports about the rally have now moved to the Archives page Remember that everything that has appeared on this website can be found on the News, Information or Archives pages. Now incorporating OUR FORESTS and FOREST CAMPAIGNS NETWORK FOREST CAMPAIGNS NETWORK Sunday 4th August 2013 Three vital documents to read to understand the latest developments in the campaign to save our forests New Government draft proposals Our Forests statement Ou Forests Stop Press statement See below and middle column for what the latest proposals by Government are all about, and HOOFs and Our Forests reaction to them Sunday 4th August 2013 LATEST DRAFT REPORT MAKES CONCESSIONS BUT SHOWS DANGERS TO FORESTS REMAIN Government blackmailing pressure groups to sign up or legislation will be postponed The Forestry Commission/Defra has just released their latest outline for the management structures and governance of the Public Forest Estate management body. The structures and governance outlined in this latest draft appear to address some, but not ALL of Our Forests concerns or those voiced by other grassroots groups and activists who have been campaigning for a secure and sustainable future for our public woods and forests from the outset. Our Forests specific comments to the draft document are: Point 1, reiterates the Government’s promise “that England’s Public Forest Estate will remain secured in public ownership”. Good to see that upfront, but the details of how that public ownership will be secured remain vague. Point 3, “Nothing in this document is fixed”. Good, because there still appear to be omissions from and dilutions some of the Panel’s key recommendations as set out below and in the Our Forests press release. Point 6, “revenue generation and self-sufficiency” are prioritised above the new body’s duty to balance those “with generating positive impacts for people and nature.” Point 8, The Guardians – as per the concerns Our Forests rises in our press release, as proposed in the document the Guardians appear to have a weaker, woollier role than envisaged by the Panel. They are described as “the conscience of the Public Forest Estate”, not the managers and sitting outside the Board of Executive and Non-Executive directors (who will be appointed by the Secretary of State). Point 9, there is a veiled threat that time is pressing for securing the parliamentary time for the new primary legislation necessary to establish the new structures. This threat has been made obliquely several times to various campaigners and grassroots groups concerned about the future of the PFE – along the lines of, ‘don’t hold things up or you may lose everything.’ The Government shouldn’t need reminding that it was its own actions in proposing to dispose of the whole 100% of the 1,500 public woods and forests that make-up the PFE that got it into this situation in the first place and it is its job, responding to the protests by 100s of 1000s of people across the political and social spectrums, to enable a positive solution. It is the Government and its officials that to date have taken nearly 3 and a half years to reach this point! Point 15, the document refers to the organisation’s objectives and duties being “reflected in a public-facing “charter”, setting the body’s remit for a long period, for example 10 years.” That is not as definite or legally-binding as the Parliamentary Charter the Panel proposed – hence our concerns raised in the press release as to the absence of a real Charter hold. Point 17, Ownership “The organisation would take over ownership of the estate ownership would be vested in the new body rather than its Board.” As the Panel recommended, the PFE should ‘be held in trust for the Nation’ set down in a legally-binding Charter. The Guardians should be an integral part of the new management body (not a separate repository for the ‘touchy-feely’ stuff) and be the part which represents and guards ‘public ownership’. Wednesday 6th February 2013 GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO INPEPENDENT REPORT IS BROADLY WELCOMED But concerns remain over lack of funding In a statement released today, Forest Campaigns Network say: We welcome the commitments given by Government: to keep the Public Forest Estate in public ownership to recognise the importance of our forest culture to the economy to confirm that forests and woodlands will not be sold and to formally rescind the suspended sale of 15% of the Public Forest Estate to engage stakeholders, communities, and those who spoke up for our forests, in designing how they are run in future to increase and improve public access to woodland, including private woodlands to increase tree cover and provide woodlands accessible to where people live However, we do have concerns about the statement: On funding We welcome the commitment by the Government to provide £3.5 million next year to make up the shortfall now that they have dropped their policy of selling off woodlands to fund the remainder of the PFE but would point out that this is not new money. It was already in the budget for 2013-14. We welcome the £2 million the government is providing to the Forestry Commission, but would point out that this is going to be stretched to cover the fight against plant diseases and implementing changes in the government statement, and only a small proportion of it will go to fund the Public Forest Estate. We are concerned that the money the Government has committed falls a long way short of the £22 million a year recommended by the Forestry Panel report. We believe this is the amount needed to ensure all can enjoy the standard of public benefits currently offered by our public forests – access, facilities, education – and to make sure our forests are protected. We note that the Government has also not yet committed funding beyond 2014. Wednesday 23rd January 2013 GET THE ECONOMICS RIGHT! Our Forests warns Government on Public Forest Estate As the Government is poised to set out its policy on the future of England’s public woods and forests - and on the Forestry Commission which manages them - an economic analysis carried out for Our Forests confirms that both the Public Forest Estate and the Forestry Commission represent excellent value for public money. A financial review by the independent consultancy Eunomia of the costs and benefits provided by the Public Forest Estate (PFE) shows that the Government’s original rationale for disposing of our public woods and forest and altering their management arrangements was completely flawed. The stated rationale behind the Government’s proposed disposal of England’s Public Forest Estate (PFE) in 2010/11 was to: - reduce the burden on taxpayers; - raise revenue by selling assets; - withdraw from activities that (in the Government’s view) would be better done by others – be those ‘Big Society’, charitable bodies or private commercial interests. But Eunomia’s analysis is that none of the Government’s stated objectives would have been achieved by those plans. You can read the full document from Our Forests here Thursday 10th January 2013 Forest campaign groups demand properly funded public forests in England. In an open letter to DEFRA ministers Owen Paterson and David Heath and to Chancellor George Osborne, Forest Campaigns Network have expressed concern that there has not been any commitment from Government departments regarding adequate funding of the Independent Panels recommendations. They ask for a firm assurance that the Government will ensure a properly funded future for our public English forests. The full letter can be viewed here Forest Campaigns Network have also released a briefing document that looks at the spending review cuts and the very real impact that they are already having on our public forests and the consequences if cuts continue to be imposed. Click here to view Monday 17th September 2012 A new document, explaining how the Forest Campaigns Network (FCN) engages with DEFRA and the Forestry Commission, has been published today. It begins FCN welcomes the engagement we have had with the DEFRA/FC working group to date and look forward to working with them further as part of the crucial process in determining how our woods and forests will sustainably deliver the triple bottom line (good for our economy, good for our communities and good for our environment). Read the full document here OUR FORESTS Friday 17th February 2012 In our opinion, there is little likelihood of this Government ‘doing the right thing’ by way of the Public Forest Estate unless it is strenuously encouraged so to do by all and sundry This is the conclusion of an OUR FORESTS meeting held on 6 February 2012 at Forum for the Future, London Read the complete notes of the meeting here ...get our public woods and forests out of the hands of distant, detached ministers only interested in short-term asset-stripping and protect them for everyone, for ever. Rich Daniels, HOOF Chairman and member of Our Forests, writing in Our Forests latest publication Reaction from Jonathon Porritt on the The Independent Panel on Forestrys interim report Jonathon Porritt, founder member of Our Forests, talking at the HOOF rally. Jonathon Porritt of Our Forests said, “It’s good to see the Panel acknowledge openly what was obvious to anyone who looked at the figures – the Forestry Commission delivers very good value for money for all the public benefits it provides from the woods and forests of the public forest estate. Defra’s own internal impacts study of the proposed disposal made that clear, but that fact didn’t suit the political agenda of the Government. This welcome acknowledgement by the Panel confirms it was politics not economics that drove the disposal proposal - there isn’t and never was a convincing financial case for disposing of our public woods and forests. Their benefits far outweigh their costs. As an ‘interim report’, the Panel doesn’t put forward any concrete recommendations, but Our Forests is concerned at the apparent havering over the future role of the Forestry Commission. The majority of people who responded to the Panel and the hundreds of thousands more who forced the Government to halt its plans in the first place, see the Public Forest Estate and the Forestry Commission as indivisible. As far as most people are concerned, the Forestry Commission is part of ‘Big Society’ - accountable to local people, not the distant, detached ‘Quango’ ministers sought to caricature it as. One immediate action that the Government must take in response to its own Panels report is to state unequivocally that no disposal of any public woodland will proceed until a final forward plan for the Public Forest Estate has been set out and accepted by the public. Our Forests is producing its own future Vision and long-term strategy for our public woods and forests, as well as looking beyond those. This will be published shortly and made available for people’s input.” DEFRA turns down Freedom of Information request! Our Forests to make formal complaint against a ruling that is seen as A manifest abuse of both the broad principles and the specific guidelines under the Freedom of Information Act. HOOF chairman, Rich Daniels, is an Our Forests committee member The full text of this and other issues raised at their last meeting can be read here in the Our Forests minutes. 7th November 2011 HOOF is One Year Old! Hard to believe but it is a year ago today that HOOF was first formed to fight the forest privatisation menace. Much has happened in that year but there is still much to do. To mark the event, Ian Standing, HOOF Secretary, has written a marvellous account of our turbulent campaign which you can read here. Legendary Forest cartoonist BAZ has drawn this cartoon specially for HOOF Click on image to enlarge. ------------------------------------- HOOF are founder members of the Forest Campaigns Network HOOF Hands off our forest ------------------------------------ Maybe this is the defining moment, the point when people say This is not right, this is not the way to proceed . Jonathon Porrit, talking at the HOOF rally earlier this year CLICK THE ICONS AT THE FOOT OF THIS PAGE TO SEE US IN THE FORESTER AND THE REVEIW AND ON FACEBOOK AND YOUTUBE We are now on Wikipedia FOLLOW US ON hands off our forest @handsoffdean Click here to see the long long list of people and organisations who have pledged to support HOOF. NEW Mon 8th Sept 2014 HOOF challenges MP to protect the Forest Mark Harper MP (right) talks to a HOOF supporter HOOF have today published an open letter to Mark Harper MP, challenging him to support HOOF, and the people of the Forest of Dean, in their efforts to exempt the Forest from a new privatisation threat. The Government is introducing legislation that will extend the power of Ministers to transfer ‘surplus’ public land to the Homes and Communities Agency for development. Baroness Jan Royall and other members of the House of Lords have tabled an amendment that will exempt the Forest of Dean and other public forests from the bill. HOOF is asking our MP to support this. (See column on left for how YOU can help) The full text of the letter is reproduced here: An open letter to Mark Harper, MP for the Forest of Dean (September 8, 2014) Dear Mr Harper You work hard for your MPs salary. Since your party came to power in 2010 you have had three ministerial jobs, and have rolled up your sleeves and worked tirelessly for the Government. You and your staff have a good reputation for addressing issues brought to you by individuals at your Friday surgeries. In Parliament, you have intervened at least 10 times regarding cross-border NHS arrangements, an issue which affects 6,000 of your constituents; you have also intervened on behalf of Forest businesses who may have unfair disadvantages compared to incentives offered by the Welsh Assembly to businesses in Monmouthshire; on several occasions you have called for a third Severn Bridge (while arguing that high tolls on the existing crossings are inevitable); you have supported farmers on the issue of bovine TB and culling badgers; you have supported a boar cull; used your Parliamentary position to criticise the Co-op in Cinderford; and also lambasted the elected independent Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, Martin Surl, on two occasions, for raising council tax by two per cent. But – and this is a huge But – you have failed consistently to address the most fundamental concern of your constituents, the threat to our Forest from sell-off, disposal, transfer or whatever jargon is being used in Government policy and legal documents. Hands Off Our Forest represents the broadest swathe of your constituents. HOOF is a completely non-party-political organisation, and we would be writing this letter to any MP, of any party, who we felt was letting down his or her constituents by failing to protect the Forest of Dean. We have had numerous meetings and correspondence with you, calling on you to get behind us all. All we receive in reply from you is a parroting of Government assurances – assurances that our Forest is safe from sell-off, disposal or the transfer schemes involving the Homes and Communities Agency, when you are well aware that these assurances do not measure up to the safeguards identified by the Independent Panel for Forestry as necessary to secure the long-term future of the Public Forest Estate. You have told us there is no need for an exemption from the Infrastructure Bill as it is not this Governments intention to dispose of the Public Forest Estate in any way. The former forestry minister Jim Paice told the European Unions Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment Sub-Committees Inquiry on Forestry on November 24, 2010, that the Government had a “clearly established” policy “to proceed with... very substantial disposal of the Public Forest Estate, which could go to the extent of all of it”. Bearing this in mind, the assurances given by Baronesses Kramer and Stowell, and you, are insufficient. We understand the Governments assertion that Parliament cannot bind a future parliament, but the axiom has not prevented the Government from including an exemption for Crown lands within the proposed Section 53A of the Infrastructure Bill. Additionally, this inability to bind future parliaments is no reason to facilitate future actions – including disposals of Public Forest Estate assets – to which your Government is now opposed. In the hands of a future government Clause 21 can be used without the need for primary legislation and proper Parliamentary scrutiny to undermine the Governments stated policy of January 31, 2013 entirely, particularly in the absence of the promised forestry legislation. It is not just a few of us on the HOOF steering group demanding an exemption in Clause 21 of the Infrastructure Bill for the Public Forest Estate – it is the bulk of your electorate, including people who voted for you in 2010. In the past few months, representatives from HOOF have visited parish and town councils and received overwhelming support. We have handed out thousands of leaflets and again the support has been near universal. From St Briavels to Kempley, Lydney to Ruardean, Coleford to Cinderford, the response has been the same. There is no excuse for you not to take up this call for an exemption on our behalf – the Forest of Dean Conservatives website clearly states: “Our local MP, Mark Harper, believes that as your elected representative, it is his job to be the voice of the Forest of Dean in Westminster, not Westminster’s voice in the Forest of Dean.” And yet you have failed to support us all every step of the way – unlike your Conservative counterpart in the New Forest, you did not speak in the February 2011 debate on Forestry in Parliament, and you voted for a sell-off, not against as the New Forest MPs did. In 2012, you – like HOOF – welcomed the recommendations of the Independent Panel for Forestry, but you failed to support us in getting these same recommendations implemented in a Forestry Bill. You said nothing when, to our great disappointment, no draft legislation was announced in the Queens Speech on June 4 this year. The Infrastructure Bill was introduced to Parliament on the following day. Clauses 21 and 22 – as the Bill is currently written – will allow any public land to be transferred to the Homes & Communities Agency and then passed on to developers, with all rights of access suspended. There are also no given parameters within the legislation detailing which type of developments can take place on transferred public land, and also no distinctions between which types of public land will be included or excluded. In 1981, when our Forest was under threat of privatisation from Mrs Thatchers government, our Conservative MP Paul Marland threw his weight behind concerned Foresters. He told Parliament: “We want more than a gentlemans agreement that the Forest of Dean will not be sold off. It is a sad fact that Ministers... come and go, Forestry Commission officials come and go, and Members of Parliament... undoubtedly come and go, so more than a gentlemans agreement is needed to ensure the freedom of the Forest of Dean for future generations.” Mr Marland helped gain an exemption in the Forestry Act, as he was asked to do by his constitutents. In other words, he did his job as an MP. In 2011, it was revealed how vital it is that definitions of what can and cant be disposed of are written into law when Bircham Wood, near Coleford, was sold to a faceless investment trust fund because the extent of the Forest of Dean was not defined in this same Act. Therefore it is absolutely essential that the Public Forest Estate as a whole is exempted from Clause 21 of the Infrastructure Bill to ensure all our forest, its outlying woodlands and other public forests in England are protected. If Baroness Royall can back us – as she is doing so, with help from the Bishop of St Albans and all the support among Lords they can muster, why cant you, as our elected Parliamentary representative, strive to build similar cross-party support for an exemption in the House of Commons? Do your job, Mr Harper – represent us, your constituents. Yours sincerely, Hands Off Our Forest Steering Group Mon 21st July 2014 HOOF needs your help urgently! Government introducing legislation that will extend the power of Ministers to transfer ‘surplus’ public land - including public forests Door will be left wide open for our forest land to be disposed of by any future government Government refusing to amend the Bill to keep our forests safe HOOF needs people to send individual emails and letters to members of the House of Lords Hands Off Our Forest needs your help urgently. The Government is introducing legislation that will extend the power of Ministers to transfer ‘surplus’ public land to the Homes and Communities Agency for development. HOOF is encouraging people to help us spread the word and to organise and take part in fundraising and awareness-raising events - which could be a guided walk, bring-and-buy, a concert, or something else. Please email [email protected] if you can help or if you have any questions. We need to persuade the Government to insert words within the proposed new law, the Infrastructure Bill, which would confirm our public forests cannot be included in these land-transfer schemes. So far the Government is refusing to amend the Bill to keep our forests safe. This means the door will be left wide open for our forest land to be disposed of by any future government if we do not succeed in nipping this in the bud. The House of Lords meets next to consider the Infrastructure Bill in October - our next opportunity to persuade the Government to do the right thing. HOOF needs people to send individual emails and letters to members of the House of Lords calling on them to “support the amendment which will be tabled by Jan Royall and the Bishop of St Albans in respect of Clause 21 of the Infrastructure Bill at the Third Reading this autumn”. (See column on left for details) You can also find us on Facebook (Hands Off Our Forest of Dean), and on Twitter @handsoffdean. The following is paraphrased from an article written by HOOF secretary Owen Adams in the Ecologist. The full article can be read here. Like the Public Bodies bill, this new Bill is an enabling Bill: economical in its wording with the most far-reaching implications. In its current form, the Bill allows any public land to be transferred to the governmental Homes and Communities Agency, to developers - with little if any recourse to local planning or public scrutiny and with all restrictions, covenants, rights of way and easements waived. Campaigners have been on the alert for biodiversity offsetting schemes, disagreeing with the idea that a site of natural importance and vitality could be destroyed if it was offset elsewhere. But this Bill doesnt even provide for any mitigation for loss of any sites. So while the Sunday Telegraph initially spread the word about a forests sell-off in October 2010, this time around it was left to grassroots campaigners to raise the alarm via emails, social media, and a petition set up independently by a concerned HOOF supporter. Within five days it had accrued 25,000 names and despite coverage in only one regional mainstream media outlet, it was clear the Government was rattled on the day of the Bills first debate on Wednesday June 18. The Government issued a statement claiming that the petition was wholly untrue, said the Bill only proposed minor changes to planning law, and that only surplus public land was involved in the transfer scheme. Lords Adonis and McKenzie articulated many of the concerns raised in the petition, by bloggers and the alternative activists newspaper Schnews, and the end of the debate saw a flustered Minister of Transport, Baroness Kramer, forced into a statement: I confirm that the Government are committed to Englands public forest estate and national parks remaining secure in public ownership for the people who enjoy them and the businesses that depend on them”. It shows that the ringing of alarm bells and petitioning had an impact - rousing the forests again would be a nightmare for the Coalition just before an election, when their own supporters are opposed to the status quo being upended. But promises are not enough - the Bill must be substantially amended. Without an exemption for the Public Forest Estate clearly written into the Bill, any assurances are meaningless. Getting amendments passed during the Committee and Report stages of the Bill, due to start on July 3, is the next objective of forest campaigners. SO - WE MUST LOBBY THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS AS A MATTER OF URGENCY See the box on the left. Wednesday 4th June 2014 Whats not in the Queens Speech HOOF is disappointed and puzzled that the Queen’s Speech did not include a proposed draft Forestry Bill. The Government has squandered its final opportunity to introduce legislation to give lasting protection to the Forest of Dean and other woodlands in England, which are enjoyed by 40 million people annually. Our woodlands remain at risk from sell-off and other forms of disposal, including leasings and privatisation of forestry functions and amenities. Despite acknowledging how much the public value their forests, the Government has reneged on its commitment to plan for a sustainable future of forestry. The Government has had two years to put into motion the clear recommendations of the appointed Independent Panel for Forestry, which were welcomed by ministers and forest campaigners alike. HOOF hopes the £900,000 spent on the Panel will not be wasted, and its advice will be followed and put into practice by the next Government. In the immediate future, HOOF calls on the Government to adopt and fully resource the Forestry Commission’s Payment for Ecosystems Services model – a comprehensive audit of all the services the Forestry Commission provides for public, cultural and conservation benefits. HOOF understands £22 million per annum is required from the Treasury, equating to approximately 38p annually per taxpayer, so the Forestry Commission can efficiently and effectively manage our public woodlands. It has also been acknowledged by Government that this £22 million annual funding produces a calculated return of more than £400 million in terms of health, environmental and other quantifiable benefits. Currently the Forestry Commission’s wealth of expertise in woodland management, especially in combating tree disease, maintaining public amenities, education and training, is increasingly compromised by funding falling short by several million pounds per year. In comparison with other public spending, the amount required from the Treasury is miniscule. This Government may have failed in its stated intention to pass a law to conserve forests for the benefit of people, nature and the economy – the least it can do is to shore up the Forestry Commission’s work to prevent our forests falling into rack and ruin. HOOF hopes the next Government concludes the unfinished business of preserving and enhancing public forests as one of its first tasks following its formation in 2015. Thursday 10th April 2014 Shadow Minister meets HOOF Right to left: Maria Eagle, Shadow environment minister;Rich Daniels, HOOF; Steve Parry-Hearn, prospective Labour parliamentary candidate for the Forest of Dean; Jackie Fraser and Cheryl Mayo, HOOF Shadow environment minister, Maria Eagle, hears HOOFs case detailing why the Governments latest proposals for the public forest estate in England are inadequte. On Thursday 10th April, the shadow environment minister Maria Eagle met at Beechenhurst with representatives of HOOF and with Steve Parry-Hearn, the Forest of Deans Labour parliamentary candidate, who supports HOOF in their campaign. Ms Eagle listened attentively to HOOFs case for why the Governments proposed new forestry bill will still leave Englands public woodlands under threat. HOOF had also invited the Defra secretary Owen Paterson and Forestry minister Dan Rogerson to the Forest of Dean, but so far they have not taken up our invitation. HOOF is pleased that our cause has been championed by the Forest of Dean Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Steve Parry-Hearn, and Maria Eagle. HOOF has also received full backing from the Green Party. Now HOOF calls on our MP, Mark Harper, to back our campaign aims: These aims are: 1. Guaranteed £22 million in funding from the Treasury for the English Public Forest Estate per annum (or 38p per annum, per taxpayer) to ensure public benefits, plant health and conservation are protected. 2. To follow in full the Independent Panel for Forestrys recommendation of a board of Guardians (with its members balanced between community, conservation and business representatives) delivering and bound by the terms of a statutory Charter, and answerable to Parliament. 3. To introduce draft legislation in the June 4 Queens Speech, and not delay it any longer. 4. For the legislation to include a safeguard ensuring that the new Public Forest Estate Management Body cannot be privatised during the lifetime of the Act of Parliament. 5. For the cessation of biodiversity offsetting schemes, backdoor privatisation of public facilities, and land sales, swaps, leasings and other forms of piecemeal disposal and change of use of land within the Public Forest Estate. Hands Off Our Forest has been giving presentations at public events and parish and town meetings across the Forest of Dean explaining our concerns and we have received universal support and positive feedback at all of them. Monday 31st March 2014 New law allows sell off of woodlands 800 year old woods to be bulldozed to make way for new motorway service station using the bio-diversity offsetting laws. HOOF urges you to object NOW to avoid this devastating legal loophole (see later for how to register your protest) Grave implications for the future of the Forest of Dean says HOOF Smithy Wood is a haven for a variety of ancient woodland plants, fungi and butterflies. But developers want to bulldoze the 12th-century forest to make way for a motorway petrol station. In a crucial test case, Extra MSA Group has submitted a formal planning application to destroy 20 acres of ancient woodland, and offered to plant twice as many new trees nearby. The firm, which specialises in building motorway services, is the first to attempt to use the controversial process, known as biodiversity offsetting, for ancient woodland Environment Secretary Owen Paterson is very keen on the idea of offsetting. But wildlife groups say it is a travesty to suggest that ancient woodlands, which in this case are 850 years old, could be replaced overnight. They are worried the proposals will create a loophole that allows developers to freely concrete over Britain’s forests. But even if this case is rejected, the implications for the Forest of Dean and other English public forests is dire, as very little of the FoD is classified as ancient woodland and would have far less protection. Under the new law, any forest can be destroyed as long as trees are planted elsewhere. In theory, this means the whole of the Forest of Dean could be concreted over, as long as a hillside in Scotland or Bavaria was re-forested. What can we do? HOOFs legal advisor, Alan Robertson, has sent the following information and we urge you to follow his example and register your dismay at this desecration. If we can nip this in the bud now, perhaps we will stand more chance of saving our Forest from this appalling new law. Alan writes that the sensible and practical thing to do NOW is to object to the application and encourage the world and his wife to do likewise. Send an objection - online. To do so, go to the Sheffield City Council Website and make a comment. You will need to register first, but it only takes a minute. He says In addition, send an e-mail to the local MP, Angela Smith, who opposes the application. Give her as much ammunition as possible. I cant see 38 Degrees taking up cudgels against a planning application so if there is to be an expression of large-scale opposition it is up to campaign groups and the like to organise and encourage it. Monday 17th March 2014 Why we must keep fighting HOOF has produced a document explaining why our Forest is still under threat. Download it here. Read it, print it out, send it to everyone you know. This leaflet will make it clear why we have not yet won the battle to keep our forests out of the hands of property developers and charities Over the next few weeks HOOF will be campaigning vigourously to make everyone aware of why we cannot accept the Governments new proposals. They will be holding community/council consultations,starting with a presentation to Newent Council on Monday 17th March at 8pm. We will also be at the Transitions Spring Fair at Cinderford Miners Welfare Hall, from 11am-4pm, so come along and find out whats going on and ask questions. Wednesday 1st January 2014 HANDS OFF OUR FOREST! (AGAIN!) Our Forest is still in danger of being taken away from us! The first few months of 2014 will be a crucial time. Flying in the face of the recommendations of the Government appointed independent panel, and in spite of frequent meetings between HOOF, Save Our Woods and Government ministers, this Government has produced a bill that will have the effect of selling off our woods to private developers . In a letter being sent today to local and national press and TV, Rich Daniels, HOOF Chairman, says: The time has come again for everyone to engage again with the fight to save our Forest from predators, and battle a new piece of legislation which, if passed by Parliament, has the potential of leaving our Forest of Dean open to exploitation from (to quote from the latest proposals) “a range of commercial freedoms... [including] mineral extraction, agriculture and industrial lettings of land and premises”. HOOF doesn’t think there are anywhere near enough safeguards to protect the Forest from being taken over by private leisure and industrial concerns, and we fear that transferring the ownership and management to a public corporation could be a halfway house to full-scale privatisation. The full press release from Rich can be viewed or downloaded here. This is essential reading. Please download it now and email it to everyone you know If we do nothing, we WILL lose our precious Forest The HOOF Committee will be meeting next week to plan an urgent new campaign, so keep coming back to this website for details. So it is with great regret we have to say - Hands Off Our Forest - Again! Monday 23rd September 2013 HOOF submits its document of disquiet to Secretary of State Government falling short on its promise to implement the Independent Forestry Panels report. Toothless Guardians, opening up our forests to commercial interests and lack of funding particular worries HOOF today has submitted to the Secretary of State its response to the Governments proposals for Englands forests. It singles out for particular criticism the changed role of the Guardians from that of powerful control to toothless watchdog; the lack of adequate funding from the public purse; and the hazy rules about disposal of parts of the estate which HOOF feels do not adequately safeguard the forests, especially the Forest of Dean. In the 8 page document, HOOF argues that on these and other issues, the Governments proposals fall far short of the Independent Panels vision of a strengthened and expanded forest estate, kept safe in perpetuity for the people. To read the full document, click here or on the image above The two recently published Government documents to which the above refers can be seen here and here Sunday 4th August2013 Bishop James unhappy with Government palns for Forests Head of independent report tells HOOF of fears that draft government proposals contradict the panel’s main recommendations The Bishop of Liverpool (left) with members of the panel visiting a working mine with Rich Daniels Government “unwise to provoke a public reaction” by failing to follow the panel’s key points. In an exclusive interview with HOOF’s Rich Daniels, the Bishop of Liverpool expressed his fears that the government may not be planning to implement the key recommendations of the report that he and the rest of the Independent Panel published, following the government’s U-turn over privatising the English public forests. Bishop James said he would not be content with any proposals about the future of forestry which contradicted the recommendations of the Independent Panel. In particular he said he would be unhappy if: - The Government abandoned the proposal to establish a Parliamentary Charter - If it marginalised the proposed Guardians to the point that they become ineffectual - If it failed to establish a distance between the Government and the management and development of the Public Forest Estate. These were all key elements of the Panel’s report and recommendations. He said the Government would be unwise to provoke a public reaction by failing to follow through on the Panel’s recommendations. Rich Daniels, HOOF chair and Our Forests member, said, “The latest arrangements appear to minimise the direct and real influence of the public and forest communities in the management of the public forest estate. And the emphasis for the new body seems to be primarily on developing commercial enterprises that can exploit and extract cash from our forests and woods, rather than maximising their less readily monetised and marketable, but nonetheless hugely valuable, public and environmental goods and services” Triangle FM To listen to our very own Forest radio station, click here Hands Off Our Forest on Facebook hands off our forest Hands Off Our Forest in the Forester hands off our forest
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 11:01:20 +0000
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