Gavin Saunders' presentation at Land & Community: Creating a 21st Century Commons event Dec '13

2. The Public Forest Estate
• The largest publicly-owned land holding in the
UK
• Public ownership = belongs to us?
• How much real ownership and involvement
do local people have in ‘their’ woods?

5. Neroche Woodlanders
• From Lottery-funded, FC-run, top-down
landscape programme
• Through a process of community engagement,
involvement and partnership
• To a ‘spin-out’ community-run social
enterprise, occupying public land but
independent of FC

6. • Woodland-based social
enterprise
• Based on the public forest
estate
• 100 acres of woodland in
Somerset
• Independent of, but
supported by, Forestry
Commission
• First example in England
of subletting of PFE for
social use and timber
management

7. • Community Benefit
Society
• Not-for-profit enterprise
• Strong local community
support and volunteer
network
• Delivering social wellbeing benefits and
environmental gain

8. Challenges
• Landowner’s concern over liability
• Sharing access to timber
• Dealing with an unconventional ‘contractor’
• Risk aversion and lack of appetite to
experiment
• ‘Too messy – why should we bother?’
• Loss of control?