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| This land is our land |
This is the transcript of recent emails between our local lapdog Tory MP, and yours truly. The first email from me to the MP was a generic as part of online campaign group 38 Degrees' efforts to stop the privatisation of forests currently run by the Forestry Commission:
Dear Mr xxxxx MP
I don't want our public woodlands to be sold off. I think they our precious places and should be kept in public hands for future generations.
Will you vote against the law which would make it legal to sell off 100% of our woodlands when it comes before Parliament? Will you join the campaign to protect woodlands for future generations, and to make sure that public access and woodland wildlife don't suffer?
please let me know where you stand,
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My MP's reply was almost certainly his stock answer to any query on this isuue:
Dear Mr T,
Thank you for your email regarding forests and the Government's consultation on the matter.
Did you know that the Forestry Commission currently only owns 18% of Britain's forests? That means that 82% is in private hands and is still protected. It seems to me that much of the media coverage is missing this fact. I am happy to support this consultation, and should it be recommended, the opening up of the possibility of this 18% of forests to be treated in the same way as the other 82%.
If action of this nature is to be taken after the consultation, the Government will ensure that safeguards are in place that will continue to guarantee freedom of access for walkers and all those who want to enjoy the forests. We will not compromise the protection of our most valuable and biodiverse forests. The Forestry Commission has and will play an important role in protecting and expanding the trees, woods and forests in England.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to me. If I can be of assistance in any further matter please do not hesitate to contact me again.
Yours sincerely,
xxxxxxx xxxxx
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So, I replied with a question I already know the answer to just to see what, if any, his reply would be:
Dear Mr xxxxx
Thank you for your reply. I was surprised to read your statistic that only 18% of our forests are run by The Forestry Commission. One suspects however that a significant proportion of the 82% of forests in private hands are not what the layman would recognise as such, and are merely labelled "forests" for tax or EC grant purposes. What I would like to know, as you have far better access to the relevant records than I, is of The New Forest, The Forest Of Dean, Kielder Forest, and more locally to your constituency Salcey Forest which are privately owned? It is these kind of places the public are most concerned about.
The anti privatisation protest is unusual in that it has participants from all walks of life, from tree hugging environmentalists, to suburbanites to peers of the realm, including a former head of The Forestry Commission, and all points in between. Your party and you would do well to remember this and listen to for once genuine public opinion rather than follow narrow ideology which seems to be a rising trend in this Government.
Yours Sincerely
Roger T
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...and here is the response, which in typical prevaricating fashion, does not answer my question, merely skirts around it...
Dear Mr T,
Thank you for your response.
My understanding is that 69% of the total forest estate is already privatised yet fully open to the public and regulated by Government orders. This means that of the 82% that is currently privately owned forest land 85% of it is fully accessible. The rest will be places used by entities like the Center Parcs corporation – which have been by no means torn down or blocked forests from the public.
You might also be interested to know that the Government plans to give special protection to ancient forests such as the Forest of Dean and Sherwood Forest, amongst others. This is over and above the standard protection given to forest land.
I do understand that there is a strength of feeling on this matter amongst some but I do believe that a full appraisal of the facts and the detailed proposal published by the Government should allay any fears.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to me. If I can be of assistance in any further matter please do not hesitate to contact me again.
Yours sincerely,
xxxxxxx xxxxx
My highlights - Bringing the likes of Center Parcs into the argument opens a whole new can of worms. Can one wander through their "forest" land unchallenged? I doubt it. His comment that "I do understand that there is a strength of feeling on this matter amongst some" must rank as understatement of the month! 38 Degrees' online petition alone has 282297 signatures as I write, and all kinds of folk are involved in the wider debate. "Some" indeed.
I feel there is little point in continuing the argument, in particular his avoidance of my query, as apart from anything else work is mad at the moment, and the odds are that more pressing enquiry would either be ignored or spun out of kilter. Ah well ,one tries!
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The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a
green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and
deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the
man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.
- William Blake, 1799, The Letters
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