Reading some of the comments about the future of the Forest, no wonder the country is in the state it is.  Firstly, let's divorce the solution of the Forest of Dean sell-off, from politics and political agendas. They will resolve nothing and let's look at the facts instead.

The Forestry Commission has managed the Forest for a number of years but have clearly failed to provide new facilities such as cafes and other amenities and are not an efficient organisation and in many ways simply do not want people to enjoy the forests.

 I agree with the HOOF campaign, but as with so many protests, those protesting often lose sight of what they are actually trying to challenge or change.  In this case, the protest is to stop the government selling off the Forest of Dean – this is a 100 per cent worthy protest but is in danger of attracting the wrong kind of publicity.  

The Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, confirmed on the Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 that under the CROW Act (and other legislation), the Forest of Dean and other heritage forests will not be sold off or leased but instead the government favours putting them in the control of either an independent charitable trust, or an existing body such as the National Trust, whilst the running costs are funded by the government.  The Town and Countryside Planning Act and some others guarantee public access to the Forest, so in that respect the Forest of Dean is safe from being sold off.

The charitable trust idea, to my mind, means that local people can be involved with and in theory be elected on to a committee on a volunteer basis to look after the Forest of Dean with necessary expenses re­imbursed.  In order for this to work, the government needs to ensure that these charitable trusts are overseen and fund-managed by a competent body such as the National Trust, thus allowing the committee to spend allocated funds on what it believes are best for the local people.  What is extremely important is that people who live in the Forest of Dean, like myself, feel part of it, and can enjoy it and have a clear say in its running, upkeep and future.

I understand from the media that HOOF don't seem prepared to look at the possibility of the Forest of Dean being managed by a successor to the Forestry Commission without even looking at the alternatives available.  Selling off the Forest is certainly and clearly an unacceptable outcome but having it managed in a way where all can be involved is surely a benefit to the local community as a whole, is it not?

We must face facts, the UK government does not have sufficient funding to operate quangos such as the Forestry Commission any longer and from an assembled group in London, I don't believe that the government is able to actively and sensibly manage the interests of the Forest of Dean, but can have a much better impact on the well-being and growth of the Forest by devolving funding to a group which has the Forest's best interests at heart.

There are many restrictions that the Forestry Commission has placed on the forests and woodlands of England and Wales which do not apply under the Forestry Commission's Scottish operations, such as the right to roam, overnight camping and much more.  The Forestry Commission is government-operated and is a typical jobsworth quango which is a money pit and does clearly need to be replaced.

You must also ask yourselves questions about how 'open' the Forest should be – for example should cars and motorcycles and quad bikes be allowed to freely roam the current Forestry Commission roads, or should they remain for non motor vehicles?

I think, on balance, that an independent  charitable trust overseen, managed and fund-operated by the National Trust or English Heritage signals the best choice for the future.

This is a real chance for real people to really embrace an idea and get it happening, rather than debating, bickering and taking political standpoints.  Life is simply too short for such mindless stupidity, so let's put our energy in to getting the Forest into the hands of the local people via a charitable trust.

– Nicholas Mutton, Tutshill.