Campaigners halt forestry land sale
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A PLAN TO sell 9,000 acres of Forestry Commission land in the constituency of Ian Lang, Secretary of State for Scotland, has been halted after a campaign by local people. Foreign buyers had shown considerable interest in the land in Upper Nithsdale, Dumfries and Galloway.
The stalling of the sale is a further setback to the Forestry Commission following its failure to sell 4,400 acres of forest in the Kilpatrick Hills near Loch Lomond last year. The commission needed to make a sale quickly to maintain its sales target of 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) a year, which has been set by the Government.
Dave Morris, Scottish national officer of the Ramblers' Association, believes that a decision was taken not to sell the land following pressure from Mr Lang, whose constituency of Galloway and Upper Nithsdale is marginal. The minister responsible for forestry in Scotland, Sir Hector Munro, has the neighbouring constituency of Dumfries. There are extensive forests in Dumfries and Galloway but only a small amount of land in the county is being disposed of by the commission.
The Forestry Commission denies that the Secretary of State influenced its decision not to sell.
The Nithsdale sale was opposed by the Ramblers' Association, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds because they feared it would mean loss of public access. Sale of other Forestry Commission land has in the vast majority of cases meant total loss of public access.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments