FORESTRY ENGLAND KEEN TO HELP RALLYING TO SUCCEED
Bridgette Hall says the organisation is “pleased” to welcome motorsport back to the forests
Forestry England has outlined the importance of motorsport to the English forestry estate in an exclusive interview with Motorsport News following the culmination of a review into motorsport on its land.
The findings of the review, which was open for consultation in September last year, were published on February 4 and opened the door for rallies to once again be organised on Forestry England land after a temporary suspension. Forestry England is now working closely with Motorsport UK to evolve working practices and sustain motorsport in the forests.
Bridgette Hall, Forestry England’s head of recreation and visitor experience, told MN: “We’re at the start of a new relationship where both sides, us as the land managers and custodians of the forests and the sport, work together to think about what the sport could look like in the future in all aspects with a view to make the sport environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.
“In the future it will all be about the right event at the right location at the right time of year.
“Over the next five-year period we are going to do some focused work to start to realise the potential [of motorsport in the forests] and make some of the changes we agree we’ll need to make along the way.”
Motorsport and England’s forests have a close affinity, with rallies from club to world level taking place in the venues for generations. Forestry England subsequently received some 1700 responses to its consultation but Hall says she wasn’t surprised by that.
“Back in 2010 when the government was considering the future of the public forest estate, the motorsport sector was hugely supportive and very clear about the need for a public forest estate,” she said. “So I’m not surprised that the passion and that love for having motorsport within the forests came out again over a decade later.
“As an organisation we’re just really pleased that there was so much interest and also pleased that we’ve been able to set the framework for a much longer project to secure a more sustainable future.”