Forestry England is a division of the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

, responsible for managing and promoting publicly owned forests in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was formed as Forest Enterprise in 1996, before devolving to Forest Enterprise England on 31 March 2003 and then being rebranded to Forestry England on 1 April 2019. Its mission is to connect everyone with the nation’s forests by creating and caring for our forests for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and businesses to grow. It operates under the Forestry Act(s) and subsequent legislation and is part of the Civil Service and an

Executive Agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nort ...

of the

Operation

Forestry England is headquartered in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, and for organisational purposes it divides England into six forest regions each with their own regional office: *North England, based in

Bellingham, Northumberland Bellingham ( ) is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, to the north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne and is situated on the Hareshaw Burn at its confluence with the River North Tyne. Features Famous as a stopping point on the Pennine Way t ...

near

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

. *Yorkshire, based in

Pickering, North Yorkshire Pickering is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ryedale district in North Yorkshire, England, on the border of the North York Moors National Park. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the North Ridin ...

. *Central England, based in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. *West England, based in

Coleford, Gloucestershire Coleford is a market town in the west of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, east of the Welsh border and close to the Wye Valley. It is the administrative centre of the Forest of Dean district. The combined population of the town's t ...

. *East England, based in

Brandon, Suffolk Brandon is a town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. Brandon is located in the Breckland area of Suffolk, close to the adjoining county of Norfolk. It lies between the towns of Bury St Edmunds, Thetford, Mildenhall, Downham ...

. *South England, based in

Lyndhurst, Hampshire Lyndhurst is a large village and civil parish situated in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Serving as the administrative capital of the New Forest, it is a popular tourist attraction, with many independent shops, art gallerie ...

. It also manages

Westonbirt Arboretum Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is an arboretum in Gloucestershire, England, about southwest of the town of Tetbury. Managed by Forestry England, it is perhaps the most important and widely known arboretum in the United Kingdom. Planted in ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, perhaps the most important and widely known

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

in the United Kingdom.

The nation’s forests

Forestry England manages 1,500 woodland and forest areas covering around spread from Northumberland to Cornwall, Shropshire to Norfolk, making them England’s largest land manager. Around half of England’s softwood production arises from the estate and supports hundreds of small businesses and several large sawmills that rely on a guaranteed supply of timber to attract capital investment. Over 230 million people visit the public forest estate each year which supports over 70 substantial business partners on the estate, delivering most of the Forest Centre services, bike hire and other outdoor activities. Alongside all the economic and recreational activity, some 45% of the estate contributes to England’s most precious National Park landscapes and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Additionally, are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest in recognition of their value for nature, virtually all of which is in sound or recovering ecological condition and accessible to the public.

References

External links

* {{Defra (United Kingdom) Organisations based in Bristol Environmental organisations based in England Forestry in the United Kingdom Forestry agencies in the United Kingdom British landowners Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government

Operation

The nation’s forests

See also

References

External links