Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Accepted
Paragraph: 97
The current permanency rules discourage farmers and landowners from engaging with tree planting for fear...
Recommendation
The current permanency rules discourage farmers and landowners from engaging with tree planting for fear that they will never be able to change the land use back to growing crops or grazing if the new woodland does not prove viable. While we recognise the need to maintain and develop the national timber reserve, this does not mean that the rules have to apply to new woodland growth on farmland. We recommend that Defra conducts an evidence-based review of the permanency rules and the impact they are having on tree-planting and consult on changes to the rules for new woodland creation.
Government Response Summary
The government is consulting on proposals to remove permanency requirements for certain forestry practices within the consultation on the Nature Recovery Green Paper published on 16th March 2022. They are also working to identify what further research into key planting blockers might be possible.
Paragraph Reference:
97
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We are currently consulting on proposals to remove permanency requirements for certain forestry practices within the consultation on the Nature Recovery Green Paper published on 16th March 2022 and once the consultation closes on 27 June 2022, we will be reviewing the results of this. We have previously received significant feedback from stakeholders that current government policy on the permanency of woodland is functioning as a blocker to planting, most notably in responses to the England Tree Strategy consultation, which informed the England Trees Action Plan. Stakeholder responses highlighted the need for greater flexibility on permanent land use change, with some respondents specifically suggesting that agroforestry and new woodland below a certain area threshold could be exempt from ‘permanence’ requirements. We announced in the England Trees Action Plan that we would be investigating motivations, barriers, and engagement methods to expand tree and woodland cover. We are currently working to identify what further research into key planting blockers might be possible. Research into the effect of permanency rules on planting behaviour and the impact of possible policy changes on woodland creation rates are a significant part of this proposal.