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Forestry England

Agency overview
Formed	1996
Type	Executive agency
Jurisdiction	England
Headquarters	620 Bristol Business Park, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1EJ
Agency executive	Mike Seddon, Chief Executive
Parent agency	Forestry Commission
Website	www.forestryengland.uk

Forestry England is a division of the Forestry Commission, responsible for managing and promoting publicly owned forests in England. 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 England's 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 of the Forestry Commission.

Operation

Forestry England is headquartered in Bristol, and for organisational purposes it divides England into six forest regions each with their own regional office:

• North England, based in Bellingham, Northumberland near Hexham.
• Yorkshire, based in Pickering, North Yorkshire.
• Central England, based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
• West England, based in Coleford, Gloucestershire.
• East England, based in Santon Downham, Suffolk.
• South England, based in Lyndhurst, Hampshire.

It also manages Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, perhaps the most important and widely known arboretum in the United Kingdom. and Bedgebury National Pinetum, a living collection of conifers, in Kent, which is said to be the largest collection of conifers in the world.

The nation’s forests

List of forests managed by the Forestry Commission

Forestry England manages 1,500 woodland and forest areas covering around 250,000 hectares (620,000 acres) 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, 68,000 hectares (170,000 acres) 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.

See also

• List of ancient woods in England
• Forestry in the United Kingdom

References

1. ^ "Who we are". Forestry Enterprise England.
2. "Forest Enterprise". Forestry Commission. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013.
3. "We're Evolving". Forestry England.
4. "Our Offices". Forestry England.
5. "About Westonbirt, The National Arboretum". Forestry England.
6. "About Bedgebury, The National Pinetum". Forestry England.
7. "About Us - How we manage forests". Forestry England.
8. "Forest Enterprise England annual report and accounts 2017 to 2018". gov.uk.

External links

• Official website

v t e Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Headquarters: Nobel House, Smith Square
Ministers	Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister of State for Food, Farming and the Environment Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nature Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs
Non-ministerial	The Water Services Regulation Authority Forestry Commission
Executive agencies	Animal and Plant Health Agency Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Rural Payments Agency Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Non-departmental public bodies	Executive Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Consumer Council for Water Environment Agency Joint Nature Conservation Committee Marine Management Organisation National Forest Company Natural England Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Sea Fish Industry Authority Advisory Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment Independent Agricultural Appeals Panel Science Advisory Council Veterinary Products Committee Tribunal Plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal
Other	Broads Authority Covent Garden Market Authority Dartmoor National Park Authority Drinking Water Inspectorate Exmoor National Park Authority Lake District National Park Authority New Forest National Park Authority North York Moors National Park Authority Northumberland National Park Authority Peak District National Park Authority South Downs National Park Authority UK Co-ordinating Body Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• 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