§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list all the plantations at present owned by the Forestry Commission in Cornwall, and those disposed of within the last 10 years giving, in each case, their acreage and the extent of public access, indicating which are included in the current disposals programme and setting out her plans to ensure no future erosion of rights of access.
§ Mr. JackThe Forestry Commission manages 3,290 hectares of woodland in Cornwall. The commission is preparing a list of the individual woods and I shall send a copy to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Lists giving details of the areas of forest land sold by the Forestry Commission from the start of the disposals programme in July 1981 to December 1992 are held in the Library of the House. The commission is compiling a list of the areas sold in 1993 and a copy will be placed in the Library when this is completed.
The Commission does not maintain detailed records of the extent of public access to individual woods.
The areas of forest land in Cornwall that the commission is currently offering for sale on the open market are as follows:
Name Area (hectares) Croft Pascoe 45 Hay Wood 54 Penance and Derrys 7 Port Elliot Estate 108 Prideaux 24 Treworgey 17 Wheal Par 5 Rights of way over commission land are unaffected by a change of ownership. In addition, arrangements for securing continued public access to former Forestry Commission woodlands after sale, by way of prior agreements entered into between the commission and local authorities, have been in place since October 1991. These arrangements are currently being reviewed.