FORESTRY PLANTING IN UPLAND ENGLAND (Hansard, 20 October 1988)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Trumpington)

My right honourable friend has written to the Chairman of the Forestry Commission in the following terms:

"You will recall that in his announcement of 16th March setting out our joint view about future planting in the uplands of England, the Secretary of State for the Environment said that I would be writing to you to give further guidance on the matter. This is now set out in this letter.

As you know, a large proportion of the land in England has been used for agriculture as either arable or improved grassland, and we therefore atttach a high value to conserving the habitats provided by the limited remaining area of unimproved land in the uplands.

General Criteria

Where unimproved land lies about the 800 ft. contour, approval should not normally be given for new planting which consists predominantly of conifers, other than for the planting of small areas, as defined below, where it is clear that this would be environmentally acceptable. An exception may also be made for planting on unimproved land between the 800 and 1,000 ft. contours if the commission agrees with the local authority and any other authorities consulted—or, in the absence of such agreement, Ministers so decide—that this would be justified in the interests of improving forest landscaping. More generally, there may be some scope in the uplands for the planting of broadleaves and mixed woodlands. These criteria should apply both to plans for new planting by the commission and to all future approvals of applications for grants for new planting by the private sector.

Unimproved land

For the proposes of this letter, unimproved land is defined as land which has not been converted to 1354WA arable use or, in the case of grassland, has not been cultivated and reseeded within the 10 years prior to the date of this letter, and any future improvement of land now defined as unimproved will not alter that definition.

Predominantly conifers

Since the establishment of broadleaved woods in the uplands is crucially dependent on planting conifers as nurses, often in the ratio of two conifers to one of broadleaves, the term 'predominantly' should be taken to mean the use of more than two conifers for every broadleaved tree at the intitial planting stage.

Exception for small areas

The term 'small' should normally be taken to mean any area not exceeding 10 hectares. In appropriate circumstances this exception may also cover an area not exceeding 40 hectares where the commission agrees with the local authority and any other authorities consulted (or Ministers decide) that this would allow the proposed planting to blend sympathetically with the landscape or to ameliorate over-regular or oddly-shaped woodland boundaries.

Planting in the industrial Pennines

It is recognised that conifers may also have a role to play in ameliorating the environment of the industrial areas of the Pennines where conditions are not suitable for growing broadleaves. Conifer planting may be permitted in these areas, which for the purposes of this exception should be defined and agreed between Forestry Commission and Department of the Environment officials.

Replanting

In providing grants for replanting the commission should encourage practices which will convert forests of even age into attractive and more varied landscapes with a mixture of types and ages of trees. To encourage the conservation, rehabilitation and regeneration of ancient woodlands, applications for grant-aid for their replanting will be expected to follow the commission's published Guidelines for the Management of Broadleaved Woodland. The commission should continue to follow similar practices in respect of its own replanting programmes.

Consultation Arrangements

The commission should introduce arrangements, where these do not already exist, to consult local authorities in England on all new planting proposals above 800 ft. where such proposals would involve the planting of more than 10 hectares predominantly with conifers. Otherwise, this letter does not affect the commission's current arrangements for consulting local authorities and other bodies as appropriate, and individual applications will continue to be considered on their merits under the terms of the general guidance I have given,"

I have arranged for copies of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.