West Country Forest

The government has confirmed it's abandoning plans to sell publicly owned woodland. An independent review has come out strongly against the move.

That means Savernake in Wiltshire, the Forest of Dean and Westonbirt in Gloucestershire, as well as Neroche in Somerset won't be sold off.

A report out today is expected to recommend transferring the Forest of Dean and other publicly-owned woodland into a new trust. It follows the outcry over plans to privatise the service.

An independent report out today is expected to come out against the sale of publicly-owned forests. The government had originally proposed to privatise the Forestry Commission, which owns Haldon Forest in Devon, and Neroche, on the Somerset-Devon border.