Forestry
Posted by Brandon Lewis, MP for Great Yarmouth, at 10:39, Fri 25 February 2011:
The minister responsible for the nation’s forests and woodlands came to the House of Commons yesterday and said, “…I am sorry, we got this one wrong-but we have listened to people's concerns…” What a refreshing change to hear a politician say sorry, we were wrong and as a result, we are changing the policy.
It’s a big difference from what we were used to under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Do you remember either saying sorry for, the Iraq War or the economic decisions that led to the worst recession in nearly a century? Their approach was to go in to media manipulation overdrive in an attempt to spin their way out of trouble, simply denying that they had anything wrong.
Nearly everyone cherishes our country’s forests and woodlands; the media coverage about our proposals has shown that many have strong views about their future. Rather than blindly continue with the proposals, the government took the right decision by halting the current consultation. A new independent panel will investigate ways of managing our forests so that wildlife is protected and we continue to enjoy access for leisure activities.
A sustainable future for our woodlands remains the government’s top priority. I agree with this and feel that areas of natural beauty such as Fritton Woods are a fantastic asset to Great Yarmouth and the surrounding area. They must be managed in the most sustainable way for future generations to enjoy.
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Posted by John L Cooper, 11:07, Fri 25 February 2011: (Is this post abusive?) #
Well put Brandon, people, who ever they are should apologise if they get it wrong. It is a great pity your tory cabinets of GYBC and NCC cannot say sorry for the mess they created when gifting our port to IPH, taking on the expense of Haven Bridge and Wesy Quays for ratepayers to pay for. Also the loss of our South Pier (freehold given away) is no different than the loss of woodland. Those tory cabinet members, were they trained in Lybia?
Posted by Madeline Jan, 15:28, Fri 25 February 2011: (Is this post abusive?) #
With reference to your latest message about the government's decision to abandon, at least for the foreseeable future, their plans to sell off the Forestry Commission woodlands, such as Fritton Woods. I am so glad you have had a change of mind, but I find it somewhat hypcritical that you should do so with such fervour having voted against a rethink of the policy in a recent Parliamentary debate. Like so many politicians, you seem to have a very short memory when it suits your purpose! Even so, I'm glad you've seen the light at last! While I'm about it, I thoroughly endorse the above comment from John Cooper about the outer harbour. It makes me think that our councillors are no match for the hatchet men of big business who regard local communities with total contempt.
Posted by Brandon Lewis, 08:44, Sat 26 February 2011: (Is this post abusive?) #
Thank you for posting feedback, always appreciated.
I did not vote against a re think of the policy in the recent debate. The recent debate was an Opposition Motion, which i would never support partly due to its own hypocrisy. The last government actually did sell off a lot of our woodlands and with no protections in place, the current government's plan would have ensured protection of access and potentially more and better access than we currently have. However, it was not well received and did not do enough to satisfy people that we would have better woodlands as a result and hence it is only right that the decision was made to step back have a fuller review of how our forests and woodlands can be better managed and protected for our enjoyment and access and then the government will come back with a new plan, probably later this year. I have been heavily involved in Fritton Woods, though this is a slightly different issue as that is a privately owned commercial woodlands so we have different issues and challenges there, but that is looking good at present too.
As I am not a GY Councillor I will leave the debate on the Outer Harbour to the posting on it elsewhere on this site. I have made my own position clear on this and this is one where John and I will continue to have to agree to disagree.