Our Forests aims to ensure the public's views on England's forests are heard

A Government-appointed panel on forests will come under close scrutiny from a newly formed pressure group.

Our Forests says the Independent Panel on Forestry lacks representation from the half million ordinary people who opposed the coalition Government’s plans to sell off public woodland and forests.

Among the founders of Our Forests is Jonathon Porritt, former chair of the UK Sustainable Development and Friends of the Earth.

Mr Porritt said: “The Independent Panel should not be starting its work with a blank sheet of paper.

“Hundreds of thousands of people and many campaign groups have already given a very clear steer as to the direction of forestry policy in England. The panel has an extraordinary opportunity to amplify those views and to provide the Government with unambiguous advice as to the critical importance of protecting the Public Forest Estate.”

Our Forests, which describes itself as a ginger group, said it has been formed to ‘ensure that the views of the more than half a million people who signed the 38 Degrees Save Our Forests petition against the Government’s reprehensible plans to sell-off or otherwise dispose of the Public Forest Estate in England are fully understood and taken into account by the coalition Government’.

The group pointed out it was unclear whether major conservation bodies were opposed to the Government’s plans or prepared to go along with them.

Our Forests co-founder Hen Anderson of the grassroots group Save Our Woods said: “Unfortunately, not one member of the Independent Panel was a part of the Save Our Forests campaign.

“Not one of them tried to stop the Government pushing through the Public Bodies Bill that would have allowed it to sell off the entire Public Forest Estate behind closed doors. It was the public that fought so hard and forced the Government u-turn on the forest sell-off.

“If the Independent Panel is to win the trust of the hundreds of thousands of people who stood up for their local woods and forests, it must be seen to take on-board and champion their concerns.

“We must expand and keep our woods and forests publicly owned and sustainably managed by a properly resourced body of experts, fully accountable to the public.”

Our Forests said the 2009 public consultation found ‘strong resistance’ to any disposal policy and that ‘the overwhelming majority of respondents indicated a desire for the public forest estate to increase in size’.

Other founders of the group are Richard Daniels, chair of the grassroots campaigning group Hands off our Forest in the Forest of Dean; Dr Gabriel Hemery, a chartered forester and co–founder and chief executive of the Sylva Foundation; Tony Juniper, an independent environmental advisor, campaigner, writer and former director of Friends of the Earth; Rod Leslie, former chief executive of Forest Enterprise; and Robin Maynard, environmental campaign consultant.

But the Ramblers, whose chief executive Tom Franklin agreed to sit on the Independent Panel of Forests, welcomed the establishment of the ‘ginger group’.

In a statement, the Ramblers said: “Britain’s walking charity has been critical of recent cuts to Forestry Commission staff, arguing that cuts mean the panel will no longer be able to make a valid judgement on the Commission’s work; putting its own credibility at risk.

“The Ramblers hopes that the formation of this new group will help to ensure that the Panel takes on board the public’s call for access to their local woodlands and that both the panel’s methods and recommendations are held to the highest account.

Justin Cooke, Ramblers senior policy officer, added: “The more people are involved with the panel, including scrutinising and evaluating its work, the more its recommendations will reflect the views of the public.

“We have already expressed concerns that cuts to the Forestry Commission will hamper the Panel’s task and we welcome the role of other high profile campaigners to shed light on the Panel’s working and keep it on its toes.

“We hope that Our Forests will look further than the issue of the Public Forest Estate and will join us in our call for public access to all English woodland.”

In May, the Forestry Commission announced it was looking to shed up to a quarter of its staff and close offices in some of the best known forestry areas, a move sell-off opponents said undermined the work of the Independent Panel, under the chairmanship of the Bishop of Liverpool.