Defra officials urged to approve quality planting schemes

The two-day visit began at Mearbeck, on a site where Tilhill has applied to plant 48 hectares of mixed conifer and broadleaf.  The site is very suitable for new planting but has been rejected due to the possible proximity of wading birds, although the site is bordered by existing woodland and the extensive surveys undertaken have identified a negligible impact on breeding waders. 

The forestry sector feels this is one of many examples where a best practice scheme is turned down because of opposition from some groups to any planting involving conifers. 

The Defra visit went on to a windblown woodland near Penrith managed by Jackie Dunne from Dunnewoods (pictured right). The site was being converted to a Continuous Cover Forestry system, but was then hit badly by Storm Arwen and Dunnewoods are wrestling with how to replant. Defra also heard about fears that some windblown sites might not be restocked due to the additional costs associated with storm clear-up, alongside reduced income from windblown timber. 

The last visit was to the BSW sawmill at Carlisle (pictured right), where the Defra team were able to see the scale and sophistication of the modern, hi-tech wood processing sector. 

“Domestic timber production is competitive with imports and the only limitation is domestic supply,” said Stuart Goodall, Confor’s CEO, who also joined the visit. “Our central message was that the UK must plant more productive forestry - it currently imports 80% of the wood products it uses, at a time when timber prices are rising. Global tensions are increasing and demand is soaring. 

“The UK must take greater responsibility for its forest footprint and plant more trees to ensure a long-term supply of home-grown timber - to support our climate change ambitions and to decarbonise construction. At the moment, we won’t be able to achieve these policy objectives in England because the amount of productive forestry in the country is in decline - as we found out from the answer to a recent parliamentary question. Indeed, we found out that the impact of government policy over the last decade has exacerbated that decline in England - at a time when we need more timber, not less.”