 | |
| Abbreviation | HOOF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2010 |
| Type | Campaign group |
| Headquarters | Ellwood Lodge Little Drybrook Coleford GL16 8PL |
Chairman | Richard Daniels |
| Website | http://www.handsoffourforest.org |
Hands off our Forest (HOOF) is a campaign group formed in 2010 to fight the UK Government's proposed sale of publicly owned land in the Forest of Dean. 'Hands off our Forest' describe themselves as a broad alliance of groups and individuals.[1]
The Forest of Dean has a long history of struggle between commoners, the Crown and private landowners.[2] The Dean and New Forests Act 1808 resulted in large areas of the forest being enclosed, depriving commoners of their customary privileges, and led directly to the Dean Forest Riots of 1831.[3]
In 1981, Parliament passed the Forestry Act 1981, amending an earlier act of 1967 to allow the sale of land managed by the Forestry Commission. Following a sustained campaign,[4] the Forest of Dean was specifically exempted from the act.[5] The Public Bodies Bill, introduced to Parliament in October 2010, proposed to amend the Forestry Act 1967, potentially repealing the Forest of Dean exemption.[6]
Towards the end of October, 2010, newspaper reports emerged, claiming that the government was planning to sell off public forests in England.[7][8][9] Following discussions with Dean Forest Voice, Baroness Royall and other individuals, Forest of Dean newspaper, The Forester, responded by announcing the formation of a "Hands off our Forest" campaign.[10] The reports were confirmed in late October, when the Minister for Agriculture and Food, James Paice MP, wrote to MPs[11] to explain the government's reasons for including powers to modernise forestry legislation in the Public Bodies Bill,[12] which had recently been introduced to Parliament. His letter confirmed the government was "exploring new ownership" options for forestry land currently managed by the Forestry Commission; which include large areas of the Forest of Dean.
According to The Guardian, "the news [was] met with near-universal disgust and shock".[13] The same newspaper also quoted Caroline Lucas MP, leader of the Green Party, as saying it was an "unforgivable act of environmental vandalism". An online petition opposing the sale, titled Save Our Forests[14] has so far[when?] received more than 500,000 signatories.
The member of Parliament for the Forest of Dean, Mark Harper, defended the proposals, describing them as an 'exciting opportunity for community ownership'.[15] He also said James Paice's letter assured him everything the public holds dear about the Forest of Dean would be protected under any new ownership.[16] However, the proposals were widely criticised by residents within his constituency,[17][18] by the local press[19] and by politicians with connections to the Forest of Dean, most notably Baroness Royall, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords. She described Mark Harper as 'fundamentally wrong' and his views on the subject as 'utter nonsense'.[20][21] Concern within the local community resulted in a number of Forest of Dean organisations joining to form an alliance, adopting 'Hands off our Forest' (HOOF) as its name.
HOOF's website describes its aim as being 'to keep the Forest [of Dean] as it is – publicly owned and publicly run by the Forestry Commission' and its strategy as being 'that government should respect the 1981 Act regarding the Forest of Dean and give it, and the other Heritage Forests, full protection from disposal'.[22]
On 27 January 2011, the Government published a consultation document.[23] Despite the Public Bodies Bill having been in the House of Lords for three months, this made it clear for the first time that the Government was not planning, or no longer planned, to sell the majority of the Forest of Dean and instead planned to "transfer the ownership or management of the large heritage sites on the public forest estate to a charity or charities, via a trust arrangement or lease.........at no cost to the new owner".
This was claimed as a victory by some campaigners,[24] although HOOF rejected the handover plan, deciding to stick to its aim of gaining an exemption for the Forest of Dean from the Public Bodies Bill; thus ensuring it stayed in public ownership and protected from any future sale or transfer.[25]
Having waited for the consultation document to be published, Mark Harper held a public meeting in Coleford, on 4 February. Despite being given only 2 days notice, 400 people turned up, but the venue chosen could only accommodate around 150 and the rest had to stay outside.[26] He had to be rescued by police.[27]
The campaign celebrated a partial victory on 17 February 2011 when, speaking in the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Caroline Spelman, told MPs the government had "got this one wrong". She announced the consultation process had been halted and that the Government would remove the forestry clauses from the Public Bodies Bill. An independent panel would also be set up to consult on the issue of the future direction of forestry and woodland, and will report to the government in the autumn of 2011.[28][29][30] However, HOOF pledged to fight on until it had confirmation the Government had abandoned its privatisation policy, and called for representation on the panel. The group also said it would campaign against cuts within the Forestry Commission and woodland within the Forest of Dean not protected in the 1981 Act.[31][32]
The campaign inspired a wide range of artwork, including creative banners, newspaper cartoons and children's artwork - some instigated by local schools. A protest artwork by Doug Eaton filled the window of The Gallery in Cinderford.[58] The fire sculpture Big BENt (a wooden effigy of Big Ben by Phil Bews) became a national icon after being burnt at the 3 January HOOF rally and featured in The Guardian.[59] The rally poster, by Helen Sandford, was also an historic and notable work of art.[60] Filmmaker Woodrow "Woody" Morris was one of several people who made their own short films of the rally [61] and several filmmakers are (as of March 2011) in the process of making films inspired by the campaign, including Mike Thomas, who chronicled many events including Mark Harper's February 2011 public meeting.[62]
The protest singer, Billy Bragg, gave permission for his British adaptation of Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land to be used in the campaign, and is included on a HOOF benefit CD called HANDS OFF,[63] which also features new protest songs directly inspired by the campaign by musicians who performed at the 3 January rally. HOOF's website is building an online exhibition of photographs and accounts of the campaign. In addition, Tom Cousins has voluntarily painted a range of large wall murals on the gable ends of Forest of Dean residents' homes and offices.[64]