New fears are surfacing in the wood processing sector about the possibility of public forests being sold off.
ConFor raised the concerns fresh from its success lobbying the Scottish government to drop plans to lease part of Scotland’s National Forest estate.
“When ConFor consulted members, there was real concern about a Plan B that involved a significant increase in forest sales,” said ConFor chief executive, Stuart Goodall.
“We understand that is under consideration now and we are seeking an urgent follow-up meeting with the minister.”
When ConFor met with the minister recently, it put forward alternative ideas, including short-term sales of non-core, non-forestry assets as a means of raising additional finance.
“But now the Forestry Commission looks likely to ramp up sales of productive forests without a proper exploration of the alternatives”, said Mr Goodall.
