Cameron’s Big Society Moves on to Nature

It would be fair to say that since the coalition government took power, all we’ve heard as a society is cuts, spending reviews and more cuts. You can barely turn on the television or pick up a newspaper without hearing about the governments latest scheme to save some money. David Cameron has branded it his ‘Big Society’, and the latest government department to pick-up on this is Defra. Never heard of them? Me neither, but they are the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The clever folks down at Defra have decided that for them to pitch in with Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ they will need to sell off the rights to 18% of England’s forest areas to anyone who stumps up the cash.

Ok, so they didn’t exactly put it that way. Here’s the official statement from Defra and the Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman (source):

State control of forests dates back to the First World War, when needs were very different. There’s now no reason for the Government to be in the business of timber production and forest management. It’s time for the Government to step back and allow those who are most involved with England’s woodlands to play a much greater role in their future.

We want to move from a ‘Big Government’ approach to a ‘Big Society’ one, so that we can give different groups – individuals, businesses and civil society organisations – the opportunity to be involved in managing the natural environment.  And we will make sure that public access is maintained and biodiversity protected.

This leaves the different groups, as Ms Spelman so eloquently puts it, free to do what they want with the land. Can everyone say ‘Property Development’?

The scheme is not without its opposition though as 75% of a recent YouGov poll stated that they were against the plans. The National Trust have also voiced their concerns over the issue. They stated in a recent statement that they were considering purchasing the most sensitive areas of forest, such as the New Forest. Is this enough though as they will not be able to rescue all of the forest areas that are up for grabs, which could end up in the hands of timber merchants. The government are not only under pressure from the National Trust. Big names such as Dame Judi Dench and Archbishop of Canterbury have also stated they are against the move, and pressure group 38 Degrees have announced that over 250,000 people have signed their ‘Save Our Forest’ petition. The future looks grim though, as this coalition government are not renowned for backing down on policy changes.

If you would like to sign the ‘Save Our Forest’ petition, then you can do here.