The Green Party's deputy leader Adrian Ramsay has issued a fresh warning of the dangers of privatising UK national forests.
Speaking on the BBC's Politics Show yesterday Adrian said:
“There is a real danger there will be a slippery slope if our forests are sold off. Even if we see the actual forests maintained themselves, will there be proper maintenance of the signs, the visitor centres or the tracks? Will they be commercially used for biomass production, for example?
“The RSPB has highlighted that if [the forests are] owned by lots of different owners, then will they be able to be used for wildlife in quite the same ways that they are at the moment? There is a real concern here.”
When questioned about the impact of the sell-off on the environment, Adrian replied:
“Of course it’s going to have an impact on the environment and climate change if we’re losing forests, especially if they’re going to be commercially managed for biomass. These are important crucial natural assets for East Anglia and the whole country, and that’s why so many people have signed the national petition to protect them for the future.”
In response to claims that the selloff was happening for cost reasons, Adrian commented:
“The 80,000 people who have signed the petition on this can see that the 30p a year it costs each taxpayer per year to maintain our forests at the moment is really good value for money, and if they do go into private hands, will we actually see them maintained in the way that we need to or will the profit margin mean that our forests are threatened in the future?”