Å®ÉúСÊÓƵ

PLANNERS behind Britain’s first new national forest for centuries confirmed
this week that they welcome proposals to plant trees for harvesting as fuel.

The Countryside Commission, which advises Whitehall on countryside protection,
wants to establish a 384-square-kilometre forest in the Midlands region
of England. The commission has decided that the new forest will be located
between Leicester and Burton upon Trent.

Bob Roberts, from the commission, says that talks have been held with
the government’s Energy Technology Support Unit over the possibility of
using part of the forest for trees for power generation.

As well as the Midlands forest the commission is promoting up to a dozen
smaller so-called ‘community forests’ on the edge of urban areas in England
and Wales.