gavin saunders 'neroche woodlanders: a case study in woodland management' dec '13

The Public Forest Estate

• The largest publicly-owned land holding in the UK • Public ownership = belongs to us? • How much real ownership and involvement do local people have in ‘their’ woods?

Neroche Woodlanders

• From Lottery-funded, FC-run, top-down landscape programme • Through a process of community engagement, involvement and partnership • To a ‘spin-out’ community-run social enterprise, occupying public land but independent of FC

• Woodland-based social enterprise• Based on the public forest estate• 100 acres of woodland in Somerset• Independent of, but supported by, Forestry Commission• First example in England of subletting of PFE for social use and timber management

• Community Benefit Society

• Not-for-profit enterprise

• Strong local community support and volunteer network

• Delivering social well- being benefits and environmental gain

Challenges

• Landowner’s concern over liability

• Sharing access to timber

• Dealing with an unconventional ‘contractor’

• Risk aversion and lack of appetite to experiment

• ‘Too messy – why should we bother?’

• Loss of control?