Breaker: Liberate the forests

A good article from David T Breaker:

When the Government announced plans to privatise the woods, many would have thought I'd object as many including a number of Conservative MPs do - except I don't, not on current plans anyway - because for all I try l cannot think why the Government should "run" or own a single acre of forest, let alone 635,000 acres!

Now I will admit that there are bigger fish to fry for this Government, and selling off forestry seems to yield little in terms of sale price or savings in the scheme of things, but with certain figures wailing about "all of our forests being sold off", bought by "sleazy bankers" and "city spivs", I feel I should interrupt. By all of our forests, they mean 7%. And is this so bad?

I would point them to each end of my lane. At one end stands some ancient forest, a beautiful valley of trees where numerous rare flora and fauna are found; at the other a managed woodland for timber production. Both are privately owned, as are 93% of England's woodlands, and indeed all the beautiful woodlands of my childhood. The ancient woodland is owned by a Trust - exactly as is proposed by the Government for their ancient forests - and is run by volunteers who love it and care for it far more than any quangocrats could.