Forestry England has paused its plans for overnight accommodation in Bouldnor Forest, after Isle of Wight Council backed a call for government action at a late-night meeting on Wednesday.
A Forestry England spokesperson told OnTheWight,
“Whilst these discussions are taking place we will not be moving ahead with the roll out of the proposed accommodation.”
The agency says it will keep working with the relevant authorities and bodies on the site.
The Bouldnor Forest Group goes further.
Letter to Shalfleet Parish Council
The group says Mike Seddon, chief executive of Forestry England, has written to Shalfleet Parish Council to confirm the agency “will not be further progressing the current proposals at Bouldnor for temporary caravans”.
Months of silence before that, the group says. It claims Forestry England and its Australian business partner, Unyoked, hoped to use a legal loophole in an old act of Parliament to put permanent holiday cabins in the forest.
The group says the plans, uncovered in July, would have avoided planning controls altogether.
Council votes to lobby the minister
Island councillors gave cross-party support on Wednesday evening to action involving the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The council will ask the minister to intervene and withdraw the planning exemption Forestry England has used under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960.
Councillors raised the risk of wildfire and said Forestry England should consult them before developing the Island’s forests.
Samantha Powell, spokeswoman for the Bouldnor Forest Group, said,
“We asked for the Council to protect all the Island forests and we palpably felt their support.
“They immediately grasped the risk to all the Island’s forests and the potential for this legal loophole to be exploited in future.”
Objections to overnight stays
Shalfleet Parish Council has complained that statutory bodies failed to control the use of land without the required permissions and local consultation.
Shalfleet Parish Councillor Jonathan Hill said,
“The Bouldnor Forest case raises a simple but uncomfortable question: how can a development so clearly inappropriate progress this far without a single statutory body stopping it?”
The group says Bouldnor Forest is rich in biodiversity and home to protected species that cannot be disturbed.
Ms Powell said,
“Forestry England is the guardian of the nation’s forests and it is a nonsense for it to pretend that overnight human presence in the forest with noise and light disturbance, trampling of the living habitat, not to mention dog mess, litter and the risk of accidental wildfire, will not harm the wildlife.
“The agency knows better than anyone the devastation caused by recent wildfires and the pressure on wildlife from over-commercialisation of our forest.”
The group says Forestry England and Unyoked plan similar cabins in around 40 locations across the UK.
A spokesperson for Forestry England said,
“For decades, Forestry England has connected people with nature by offering overnight stays and camping facilities in forests and woodlands across the country.
“Our overnight accommodation is always sensitive to wildlife and the forest’s ecology is at the heart of our approach and these considerations have informed the development of proposals relating to Bouldnor Forest.
“We will continue to work with all of the relevant authorities and bodies regarding the management of this site.
“Whilst these discussions are taking place we will not be moving ahead with the roll out of the proposed accommodation.”
