Gordon Brown’s pre-budget (and pre-election?) largesse should benefit the timber sector to an extent. The extra £200m he’s doling out for school repairs could buy a lot of timber doors, windows and other RMI products.
But, according to the Association of Professional Foresters, the concessions on fuel and vehicle excise duty are not enough to bring discernible relief to a hard-pressed homegrown timber sector. In fact, in his letter to Mr Brown, APF chairman Richard Ogilvy issues some stark warnings. Unless more is done to ease the industry’s fuel pain, he predicts, the casualty rate among UK harvesters and timber hauliers will rise sharply.
One suggestion is that the fuel duty rebate scheme for ‘essential users’ is applied to the forestry/timber harvesting sector. Of course, the timber trade would say that makes sense, wouldn’t it? But the case is backed by objective argument.
The government insists that its fuel duty policy is motivated by green concerns – ie expensive petrol spells fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. But higher fuel costs for the timber sector could be environmentally damaging. The sharp increase in the home-grown timber supply set to come on stream in the next few years is potentially a huge eco benefit. It could help accelerate substitution of less green building materials and the major felling would trigger a major wave of replanting, making UK forests an even deeper ‘carbon sink’ for the future.
But, says Mr Ogilvy, if contractors and timber hauliers can’t afford to get to their far flung places of work or afford the petrol for their chainsaws and vehicles, a significant chunk of this resource may be left in the ground. That would mean less competition for plastic, steel and concrete. In short, it would be an environmental offence.
