UK: Some public forests will still be sold off

A chunk of England's publicly owned forest will still be sold off, Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary has admitted, despite the public outcry over plans to privatise woodland.

In an embarrassing admission earlier this year, the minister was forced to back down from plans to change the law so the government could sell all the 258,000 hectares of woodland owned by the taxpayer.

"I am sorry, we got this one wrong, but we have listened to people's concerns," Mrs Spelman told the commons in February.

But giving evidence to the Environment Select Committee, she admitted that the government would still go ahead with plans to get rid 15 per cent of UK woodland - the maximum allowed without changing the current rules.

It means some 38,700 hectares, will be sold off over the next five years.

Proposals to sell off the land have generated huge public opposition with one petition calling for the plans to be scrapped generating more than 500,000 signatures. (read more)