The Sunday Herald reports the Forestry Commission is preparing for a dramatic escalation in sales of woodlands to the private sector after the failure of the SNP government's controversial proposals to lease up to 25% of the Scottish estate.
One of the organisation's leading land agents, John Clegg, said the Forestry Commission has identified no fewer than 37 properties for sale in the next 12 months, covering a total of 22,000 hectares in an enhanced "repositioning" programme.
Industry experts said the sales could raise more than £50 million, triple the official target figure set for land sales, although there are some concerns that the scale of sell-offs could have an impact on valuations.
But the news does not seem to have percolated down to all levels at the Forestry Commission and a spokesman denied last week that there was any increase on it's published plans to sell 5000 to 6000 hectares this year.
Under guidelines, community organisations have the first rights on any sales, followed by environmental groups such as the RSPB.
I must be missing something here because I thought the Scottish government had halted the sale of vast swathes of Forestry Commission land to private owners. All these people who protested initially must be wondering if it was all worth it.
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