South West Forest to close

As part of the joint review by core funding partners, Devon County Council, Cornwall Council and the Forestry Commission; South West Forest, the rural development initiative which has supported the forestry industry across the ‘land between the moors’ (Exmoor, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor) is being brought to a close.

Woodland Advice

For enquiries in the South West Forest area please contact the Forestry Commission on 01626 890666.

Successes

During its lifetime, South West Forest has been responsible for a range of significant outputs to support the wood and forestry sector:

3200 hectares of new woodland established
6 million trees planted
£14m of investment into new woodlands and woodland infrastructure
131 local jobs supported and 197 safeguarded
17 community woodland sites established
Over 4,000 school children and 700 adults involved in tree planting and forest education activity
Over 20,000 visitors and 500 exhibitors attending Woodfair events
Woodland cover increased by 1% to 10% of the total area

Our thanks go to all the partners, funders, clients and volunteers who have made it possible for us to deliver the above.

Successors

Devon County Council and its partners will continue to support the ‘Land Between the Moors’ rural area including its forestry sector through the development of a number of innovative initiatives born out of the SWF legacy.

In the current funding climate, the following arrangements are being put in place to develop and deliver these initiatives to guarantee co-ordinated action and maximise the potential for securing funding for the future:

Community and Education

The HAWTHORN Project (Having Access to Wellbeing Through Opportunities in Nature) has been invited by Natural England’s Access to Nature Fund to prepare a full funding bid, following a successful expression of interest.

This will enable it to continue its work with healthy green outdoor activities, forest schools etc to help people access the countryside, mentor training for volunteers to support those with special needs, community woodland groups and tree planting. The bid is being prepared in partnership with the North Devon Biosphere Reserve who will lead the project if the bid is successful.

Woodfair

We are currently in discussion with other partners to take forward the popular Woodfair South West network and its annual event, traditionally held at Roadford Lake, as well as a project to manage the impact of deer on woodlands and get more venison into local food chains.

Ward Forestry a successor to the advisory service

An exciting ‘Ward Forestry’ initiative to help manage small woodlands and market their products collectively will be taken under the wing of the Devon County Council Economy Unit. It will link with existing work to develop new markets and ensure supply for growing markets such as woodfuels where a number of new installations have recently been supported by the RE4D (renewable energy for Devon) project and partners.

Thank you

Des Hannon, Chairman of SW Forest says; “Thank you to everyone involved with South West forest for a job well done. We’ve been responsible for some great achievements over the last 10 years, the effects of which will be seen by generations to come. New management arrangements will mean that all projects in the pipeline will be seen through and by working through partners we’ll get even better results.”