Puzzling forests of remembrance announcement

AS society slowly returns to a state of normality, I’m sure that most are looking forward to the easing of the final Covid restrictions and, hopefully, consigning the misery and suffering of the past two years to the history books. It’s only right and appropriate, however, that the suffering, the losses and the acts of selflessness are suitably remembered.

Forests of remembrance have recently been announced by the Welsh Government, with one such forest to be planted on the land of Brown Hill, Llangadog, on parcels of land recently acquired by Natural Resources Wales.

This announcement puzzles me for many reasons. It is widely recognised that spending time in woodlands can have a positive effect on alleviating conditions such as depression and anxiety. I therefore fail to understand why would Welsh Government seemingly deny many the opportunity of having ease of access to such woodlands, where there would be an opportunity to reflect and be close to nature.

I’m sure that we are all acutely aware of the increased costs of transport, be it running a car or utilising public transport. I’m pretty certain that we are all also very aware of the active travel agenda that encourages people to cycle or walk to their destinations. In this day and age, running private transport is out of reach for many. Let’s be quite frank, Llangadog is hardly in close proximity to any area of population density, and whilst there is a railway station at Llangadog, the frequency of trains calling at the station is questionable, as is the distance and safe route of access (without a significant investment by the taxpayer) from the train station to the proposed forest site. These considerations raise some serious questions about the suitability of the purchased site for the intended purpose.

I regret that opportunities are being missed to establish many more afforested areas as memorials to the pandemic that touched all parts of Wales, utilising land that is less productive in terms of food production, and in closer proximity to more densely populated areas. Areas of population density arguably already have far better public transport infrastructure, and the active travel option to visits such sites of remembrance would be far more attractive.

In the wider context, given the current concerns about food security, it’s perfectly reasonable to question the prudence of using some of the best food producing land in Wales , and a flood plain in a special landscape area, for the purpose of establishing a forest.

I’m gravely concerned that this will truly be a case of acting in haste and repenting at leisure in terms of the prudent spending of the tax payer’s pound and providing equal and suitable opportunities for all in the context of a very honourable intention.