§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if it is the practice of the Forestry Commission to seek the views of the local highways authority before either approving a woodland grant scheme or carrying out planting itself, in order to determine any costs in highways improvements required to permit subsequent extraction of timber; and whether approval to plant can be refused as a result of any such consultations.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonWhere, under agreed arrangements, a local authority is consulted by the Forestry Commission about a planting proposal, it may express its views on the adequacy of local roads to carry timber traffic. However, because of the time-lag of many years between planting and harvesting, the Commission does not accept that the existing state of local roads provides grounds for a valid objection to planting taking place.