GOVERNMENT PLANS to privatise 260,000 hectares of forestry commission land in England has met with massive opposition.
Thousands have demonstrated and signed petitions opposing the sell-off.
This shows that the government has failed to allay fears of commercial destruction of woodland and that public access to forests will be denied.
People clearly understand that this £5 billion asset sale is the thin end of a very damaging commercial wedge. And that, over time, the need to generate profits will result in golf courses, housing developments and leisure centres encroaching on important environmental resources.