§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list the plots of Forestry Commission land in South Yorkshire which are(a) currently for sale and (b) being considered for sale; and in each case (i) what is the size of the plot, (ii) what consultation is planned in advance of the sale and (iii) how many representations he has received to date for and against the proposed sale; [40904]
(2) if he will list the plots of land which have been sold by the Forestry Commission in South Yorkshire in each of the last five years; and in each case (a) what was the size of the plot, (b) what consultation was made in advance of the sale and (c) how many representations he received (i) for and (ii) against the sale. [40905]
§ Mr. BoswellThe subjects of the questions relate to matters undertaken by Forest Enterprise. I have asked its chief executive, Mr. Gordon Cowie, to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Gordon M. Cowie to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 16 October 1996:
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your Questions about Forestry Commission land in South Yorkshire.In answer to your questions I enclose the following information:—Annex A—a list of land sold since 1991944WAnnex B—a list of land currently for sale, either on the Open Market or by Negotiation, or currently being considered for sale.All the properties listed were notified in the Estates Gazette, added to which the local authority have been advised of our intention to sell.For Annex A, we have no detailed records of any representations.For Annex B, there has only been one representation received to-date, and that is against the sale of Owston & Duck Holt Woods and Wadworth Woods. The matter is being dealt with separately via Ministerial Correspondence between yourself and the Rt Hon. John Gummer MP which has since been redirected to the Scottish Office to be replied to in due course.
Annex A: Forestry Commission cases sold in South Yorkshire from 1991 to date Year Name of property Area (ha) 1991 Bagger Wood (pt) 0.1 Broom Royd 8.3 Crane Moor Wood 1.0 Top Pit Wood 5.6 1992 Bagger Wood 26.8 Lower Lee Wood 5.0 Melton Wood 100.5 Upper Lee Wood 2.7 1993 Bawtry Woods 214.0 Stockbridge By-Pass 2.8 1994 Black Carr 20.4 Cannon Hall Estate 160.4 1995 No sales — 1996 No sales —
Annex B: Forestry Commission land currently for sale either on the open market or by negotiation in South Yorkshire Year Name of property Area (ha) 1996 Owston and Duck Holt Woods 64.0 Wadworth Woods 115.0 Green Springs Wood 12.0 Old Park Wood 41.0 Walker Wood 6.0 Hugset Wood 34.0 Millerhill/Wigfield Wood 5.0 Forestry Commission land currently being considered for sale in South Yorkshire
There are no cases being considered at present.