Government to sell-off Britain's state-owned forests

From The Sunday Mirror:

Half of the state-owned forests could be sold off in a cash-raising scheme by the Government.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman will reveal plans this week to put two million acres of Forestry Commission up for sale.

The sale, which will involve some of Britain's most historic woodlands, could raise between £2billion and £5billion by 2020.

But critics fear the sell-off to private firms will pave the way for a major expansion of golf courses, commercial logging and rural holiday villages such as Center Parcs.

Laws which restrict what can be done in "ancient forests" such as Sherwood Forest and the Forest of Dean could also be changed, giving private firms the right to chop down trees.

......A senior Labour source last night condemned the plan as a move "to sell the crown jewels of the British countryside".