IN few northern countries do broadl caved tree, grow as well as in Britain: and few have exploited the advantage so ruthlessly. By the early 20th century Britain had all but lost its forests. Now they may be returning

A combination of demand for home-grown timber, the need for an enhanced environment. qnd a eduction tn the amount of land devoted to agriculture, could once again make Britain the country Jultus Caesar is said to have called one great forest. It will bot be quite like that, but plans are already well advanced for the planting of a vast new hardwood forest in the English midlands, traditionally a forested area, which will involve trees on some 50% of the land concerned.

The idea has some from the Countryside Commission, the Government-sponsored body responsible for coordinating national policies on rural conservation and improvement, through which many grants are channelled.

The commission is currently surveying five sites around Birmingham. Farmers and landowners would retain ownership of their land but would be encouraged to make it available for planting, either by private or public schemes, through a variety of financial Inducements, some of which are already in place.

This Midlands Forest would create jobs and supply some of the 90% of the British timber requirement that is at present Imported. It would also offer a vast recreational area on the doorstep of one of the country's moat heavily populated urban and industrial regions.

Apart from benefits to people there would be enhancement of the landscape and Improvement of wildlife habitats. The idea has already created so much enthusiasm locally that councils in whose areas the five potential sites fall are competing vigorously to be chosen

Even ten years ago. such a plan would never have passed the drawing board. The deforestation of Britain had been continuing for centuries. The use of timber for houses and ships, and wood for domestic and industrial purposes had. by the early part of this century, left the country with no more than 5% of its land area covered by trees.

The Institution of the Forestry Commission, just after World War I. went some way to recovering this situation. However, another world war jvlthln 20 years quickly sapped the potential of the new woodlands the commission had developed. Moreover, for economic reasons, those woodlands consisted almost entirely of conifers, primarily the Sitka spruce, criticised by foresters and environmentalists alike as ^fen to the British country-

BudgotaryClmne.

Conifer planting was encouraged by lenient taxation of

landowners who planted trees. Wealthy individuals and certain celebrities invested heavily tn such planting because of the tax advantages.

These were swept away by budgetary changes tn 1988. Now. the emphasis is once again on the traditional oak. ash. chestnut, hornbeam, larch . and birch, which were neglected because of their slow' growth and relatively poor financial return.

The Midlands Forest project Is not the only plan for improvement. In all. the Countryside Commission and the Forestry Commission are working on 12 "community forests" in England and Wales. One would be on the eastern fringes of London, and three more would lay a belt of woodland across central northern Englands. running from Liverpool, on the northwest coast, eastwards to Sheffield.

The foresters accept that their biggest problem will be raising money. Although the tax advantages have gone. Government support has been switched to grants that not only promote new planting.

particularly of hardwood trees, but help to underwrite the costly maintenance of new forests In their early years, when their potential for profit from timber sales is small.

Insatiable Demand

Such grants are already helping to give the new forest industry a start, but they will be Insufficient by themselves to cover the cost of acquiring, managing and improving forest land. Much of tha^xpense will have to be borne b$She private sector.

The prospect for private owners to benefit is greater than might at first appear. Demand for timber products Is insatiable: new technology. Improved varieties of trees, in-forest methods of adding value by milling on site rather than using expensive haulage to timber mills, are all contributing to a more efficient timber Industry.

Between 1983 and 1989 the area of new plantings grew steadily, only dipping from a peak of 29 500 hectares in 1989. to 19 700 in 1990, because of the tax changes re-

ferred to above

Oddly enough. It has been the destruction of some forests that has galvanised owners into commercial activity. In the lat ter part of the decade a series of violent storms hit southern England, felling mature trees In their thousands.

Initially, the availability of such a vast quantity of timber, much of it in prime condition, may have led to lower prices; but as the timber trade clamoured for the production of this unexpected harvest, owners found they had a very valuable asset to exploit.

Main Influence

At the same time. British, agriculture has found Itself in growing difficulty. Surplus food production has led once again to action, both at European Community and British Government level, to cut the cost of farming to taxpayer. Schemes such as "set aside", where farmers are encouraged to stop cropping a part of their land, mean that some other use has to be found for It — trees are an obvious answer.