North East Coast Timber Trade Association (NECTTA) chairman Ian Robinson is investigating the possibility of creating one “very strong” timber trade association for the north of England.

Speaking at the NECTTA annual dinner in Newcastle Mr Robinson said his association, with only 11 members, was now too small to be effective and said discussions about joining forces with the Yorkshire and Humberside and North West Coast associations could be implemented.

Highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Structural Timber Awards for 2002, organised by NECTTA in conjunction with TRADA and sponsored by JT Dove Ltd.

The competition is open to undergraduate students of architecture or engineering and 2002’s challenge was to design a mobile stage and backstage system for outdoor events.

&#8220Please do something to show the timber industry does care about its future and give the FEI resources to grow the market for timber..”

Terence Mallinson, chairman of the Forest Education Initiative

The winners – all from the School of Architecture at Newcastle University – were Adrian Timmins (1st prize), Claire Harrop (2nd) and James Galitzine.

Terence Mallinson, chairman of the Forest Education Initiative, appealed for help to promote forests and timber to children, adding: “Please do something to show the timber industry does care about its future and give us the resources to grow the market for timber for future decades.”

Timber Trade Federation (TTF) president Geoff Rhodes said 19 new companies have joined the TTF since November. He added that a survey is underway into the sector’s training needs and described the opening of the timber engineering course at Napier University as “an important development”, adding: “The need for an effective R&D programme in timber engineering is clear and will increase the whole market for timber.”