The
government has announced that it will not sell off publicly owned forests in
England.
It
says it will create a new public body that will hold in trust the nation's
forests for future generations.
Environment
Secretary Owen Paterson was responding to a report
that called the estate a "national asset" that should not be
sold off.
He
also announced that the policy of selling off 15% of the estate to cover costs
would be rescinded.
Mr
Paterson gave few details of the new, independent body that would own, maintain
and safeguard the public forest estate except that it would be set up in the
longer term.
"The
new body will have greater independence from Government and greater freedom to
manage its resources and maximise its income but with the right safeguards in
place to operate for the long-term benefit of people, nature and the
economy," he said.
The
Independent Panel on Forestry (IPF) was established in March 2011 after a
ministerial U-turn on plans to dispose of a chunk of its woodlands.
The
Rt Rev James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool and who chaired the Panel, welcomed the
government's response saying it was an "unequivocal endorsement" of
the IPF's recommendations.
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