Apologies if this particular bit has been done before – article in the Westmorland Gazette this week….

Over the next three years, the Forestry Commission has been told to sell off 15 per cent of its land – which is estimated to be worth at least £80m.

DEFRA has confirmed that a consultation will be launched at the end of this month which will lead to the complete privatisation of public forestry.

Wow, so a consultation where the outcome has already been decided and it’s really just a window dressing exercise? Now that is a surprise

Grizedale and Whinlatter forests in the Lake District, which between them bring in £20 million a year, would be seen as flagship sales in Cumbria.

Pockets of publicly-owned land have already been hived off by the Forestry Commission, including Riggwood at Grizedale, which was sold for around £120,000 last year and later closed to public access.

Also

Buyers of freehold land would have to keep public rights of ways open for walkers but there would be no requirement for them to provide access for cycling, mountain biking and horse riders.

http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/8786819.Campaign_to_halt_Cumbria_forests_privatisation_plan/

Presumably that just refers to the man made trails that aren’t rights of way though? Surely bridleways have the same rights as footpaths? Either way its not good.

Guess it has been done before then?

Yeh, they’ve put up a fence and a double gate a Rigg wood which means theres barely any parking at the most popular spot on the East side of the Lake.

It will be shit in summer when everyone starts parking on the road.

Property is theft!

Pockets of publicly-owned land have already been hived off by the Forestry Commission, including Riggwood at Grizedale, which was sold for around £120,000 last year and later closed to public access.

This seriously worries me. We’re hopefully slightly safer up here in Scotland where access cannot (currently) be closed off (generally), but this is surely the thin end of the wedge. The sad thing is 99% of people won’t even notice never mind care.

Buyers of freehold land would have to keep public rights of ways open for walkers but there

Actually, they’d have to keep ALL land open to public access on foot – the FC have a stated intention of permanently dedicating all its freehold land as access land under CROW and have been in the process of completing this for some time

there would be no requirement for them to provide access for cycling, mountain biking and horse riders.

There is no requirement for the FC to do so at present, and the vast majority of their land is not open for these uses at the moment!

There is no requirement for the FC to do so at present

But the FC does have a remit to encourage public use of their land. No such remit for a private company – as seen in the Rigg Wood example.

I fail to see how anyone can see this as a good thing.