§ Mrs. OrganTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of Forestry Commission land which has been sold in England(a) since 1981 and (b) since 1 May 1997 has a public access agreement in place. [33742]
§ Mr. MorleyThe subject of the question relates to matters undertaken by Forest Enterprise. I have asked its Chief Executive, Dr. Bob McIntosh, to reply to my hon. Friend direct.
301WLetter from Bob McIntosh to Mrs. Diana Organ, dated 12 March 1998:
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your Question about the percentage of Forestry Commission land sold in England with access agreements.The Commission's disposal policy originates from 1981 but the arrangements for the protection of public access were only introduced in 1991. I have, therefore, limited my answer to the period since 1991, up to 31 December 1997, the latest date for which figures are available on public access agreements.For the period 1 April 1991 to 31 December 1997 the Forestry Commission sold 10,155 hectares of forest land in England of which 5% (533 hectares) were sold with an agreement to protect public access. For the period 1 May 1997 to 31 December 1997 the respective figures are 860 hectares sold, with 8% (65 hectares) subject to an agreement.In addition during the whole period 248 hectares of the forest land sold had access protected through a sale to a Local Authority or other benevolent purchaser such as the Woodland Trust.Finally, the Commission does notify Local Authorities of all forest land sales but in many cases is prevented from formally offering or entering into an agreement because of title constraints and third party rights.