FORESTRY Minister Trudy Harrison has given her backing to proposals to create a 'Timber Sector Deal' – which would bring together government, industry, green groups and farmers to increase future supplies of home-grown timber.
The Tory MP also said she would like to contribute to the National Wood Strategy (NWS) for England, being prepared by Tom Barnes of Vastern Timber and Andy Leitch of Confor, that should form a key part of the Deal.
The Minister made the pledges during a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and Tree Planting at Westminster, held on UN International Day of Forests 2023 this week.
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The meeting heard about the benefits of an inclusive Timber Sector Deal from Friends of the Earth, Confor and the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission.
Currently importing around 80 per cent of the timber it uses for wood products, Confor estimates demand in the UK could increase by a further 78 per cent by 2050. All parties agreed that simply relying on ever-greater imports is unsustainable.
Confor’s CEO Stuart Goodall, who spoke at the event, said: “It was great to hear the Minister’s continued positivity about increasing productive forestry, to secure future timber supplies and avoid an ever-increasing reliance on imports. She was also very supportive of the National Wood Strategy, and asked for a meeting, which we will arrange to discuss the Strategy and Timber Sector Deal.”
Tom Barnes welcomed the minister’s positivity, and the Forestry Commission’s aim to make productive planting simpler and to tackle the negativity that can surround it.
However, he warned that England was currently “going backwards on productive forestry” and had to turn positive words into action.
Mr Barnes added: “We are at a ‘now or never’ point. We have momentum and desire and we're hearing all the right things, but must turn that into action. Processes and guidelines are still stacked against productive planting and we need to change that.
“No-one can do this alone. We need consistent messaging from Government, industry and environmental organisations to convince people we need to plant more woodland, manage existing woodland better and produce more home-grown timber.”
The minister said she was “absolutely” committed to planting more productive forests, adding: “I can’t send out a stronger message than that we back everything you are doing to create a profitable and sustainable future.”
Ms Harrison said this would involve a clear “presumption to plant” in appropriate areas, and constant work on addressing barriers that stopped people planting trees. Naomi Matthiessen, who leads on forestry at Defra, said there were short, medium and long-term policies in place to remove barriers, which should have an impact from the next planting season.
READ MORE: 40-year strategy to reduce UK's reliance on imported timber
Ms Harrison reaffirmed the government’s desire to increase England's tree and woodland cover to 16.5 per cent (from 14.5 per cent) by 2050. This would require 250,000 hectares of new woodland, and around 400 million new trees, she said, adding: “It’s an ambitious target, but absolutely necessary to support timber in construction. We need a mixture of coniferous forests, mixed woodland and broadleaf trees.”
Forestry Journal will have an in-depth report from the APPG in May's edition of the magazine and across our online channels.
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