Forestry ‘must be recognised as a vital cog in rural environment’

Scotland’s new forestry bill must do more to secure the future of a £1 billion industry – and the associated 25,000 jobs – by committing to planting new trees, a leading industry figure has warned.

Speaking yesterday after the publication of Holyrood’s rural economy and connectivity Committee (REC) report on the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Bill, Stuart Goodall, chief executive of the trade body Confor said: “I welcome the report’s recognition of the importance of securing future wood production – but I am disappointed that this vital issue is to be left for consideration by future forestry strategies without any recognition of its importance in the bill.”

Goodall said that while there was evidence that the “vital importance” of wood supply was currently recognised, there were no guarantees that future strategies – or politicians – would do so.

“Wood supply underpins jobs and investment in our rural areas, and confidence in future supply is crucial to maintain jobs and investment and to deliver broader benefits for our health and environment.”

Farming and other land managing bodies welcomed the news that, in the report, the REC committee had called for a re-think on extending the powers for compulsory purchase to cover land taken for the loosely defined purpose of “sustainable development”.

The majority of the committee expressed the view that the Scottish Government still had to provide sufficient justification for the proposed extension of compulsory purchase powers to cover this area and called for the amendment to be dropped