Isra-Mart srl:Government clears path for Forestry Commission sell-off plan

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Proposals expected to provide a boost to the biomass energy sector, but green groups remain concerned over commercialisation of the countryside

Environment secretary Caroline Spelman has today confirmed reports that the government is considering selling off the Forestry Commission, although she insisted strong safeguards would be put in place to protect biodiversity.

In an open letter to MPs, Spelman said that the Public Bodies bill introduced in parliament today will allow the coalition to deliver a "modernisation of the forestry legislation".

"By including enabling powers in the bill we will be in a position to make reforms to managing the estate," she said. "We will consult the public on our proposals later this year and will invite views from a wide range of potential private and civil society partners on a number of new ownership options and the means to secure public benefits."

She added that the government intended to deliver a "managed programme of reform" that would result in "a new approach to ownership and management of woodlands and forests, with a reducing role for the state and a growing role for the private sector and civil society".

The decision has prompted concerns among environmental groups, which have characterised the move as an attempt to sell off some of the UK's most prized natural assets.

Speaking earlier this week, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, said the sale of forested land to private developers would represent "an unforgiveable act of environmental vandalism".

"Rather than asset-stripping our natural heritage, government should be preserving public access to it and fostering its role in combating climate change and enhancing biodiversity," she said.

However, Spelman said the changes would have relatively little impact, stressing that the Forestry Commission's estate covers only 18 per cent of England's wooded areas and that safeguards would be put in place to protect biodiversity.

"We will not compromise the protection of our most valuable and biodiverse forests," she said in the letter. "Full measures will remain in place to preserve the public benefits of woods and forests under any new ownership arrangements.

"Tree felling is controlled through the licensing system managed by the Forestry Commission. Public rights of way and access will be unaffected, statutory protection for wildlife will remain in force and there will be grant incentives for new planting that can be applied for," she said.

It is hoped that the reforms could lead to a major boost to the UK's biomass sector, by encouraging landowners and renewable energy firms to expand managed forests to produce fuel for biomass plants.

According to recent figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, just 10 per cent of UK forests are managed, resulting in a huge untapped resource that could be developed in a sustainable manner.

A spokesman for Defra said the department planned to launch a consultation exercise on the plans before the end of the year.

He also downplayed fears that the move would lead to increased felling of forests, noting that the existing Wildlife and Countryside Act and the Town and Country Planning Act would ensure high levels of protection for existing forests.