COVER FOREWORD INTRO NATIONAL LOCAL VISION STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTATION HOME Forest Plan January 1995 Watling Chase Community Forest Gardeners Cottage, Shenley Park Radlett Lane, Shenley Hertfordshire WD7 9DW Tel: 01923 852641 Fax: 01923 854216 COVER FOREWORD INTRO NATIONAL LOCAL VISION STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTATION HOME Foreword Welcome to the Forest Plan for Watling Chase Community Forest. The Watling Chase Community Forest team and steering group have great pleasure in publishing this Forest Plan. It provides the blueprint for the creation of Watling Chase Community London. The Watling Chase concept is part of the major new community forest approach to planning and managing our urban fringe. It will create a well-wooded landscape for work, wildlife, education and recreation; a working countryside with farming and forestry as major land uses. The area already has considerable wildlife, historic and archeological interest and offers people a range of recreation opportunities. We must, therefore, cherish what we have and seek ways to improve it. The tree-planting programme is ambitious and will not happen overnight; the time-scale is a Catherine Cairns, Director long one. But we have made a start and the challenge lies in Watling Chase Community Forest turning the vision into reality by involving everyone in the community. This Forest Plan is the product of a comprehensive public consultation process in mid 1994, following the publication of the Draft Forest Plan. It was essential that local landowners, residents and organisations, the Watling Chase community, should be as closely involved as possible in formulating the plan for the proposed 'forest'. The consultation details of which are given in the Report of Consultation, resulted in overwhelming support for the proposal. This has given the team and the sponsors great encouragement as they take the project forward from its plan preparation stage into implementation. Many of the comments received have been incorporated into this final plan. This document details the policies and landscape strategies to take the concept forward, and the implementation section suggests how this will be achieved principally through partnerships and grant funding. I have lived and worked in the Watling Chase area for many years and feel honoured to have the job of helping to turn this vision into reality. Everyone living in and close to Watling Chase could and should become involved too in this tremendously exciting environmental initiative, and I urge you all to do so. Catherine Cairns Project Director The Watling Chase Team: Left to Right, Back Row: Margaret Westerhuis, Mark Prior, Catherine Cairns, James Hargreave. Front Row: Sue White, Nick Lane, Sue Isaacs COVER FOREWORD INTRO NATIONAL LOCAL VISION STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTATION HOME Introduction The Watling Chase Community Forest initiative is Supported by the Countryside Commission and the Forestry Commission in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council, Hertsmere Borough Council, London Borough of Barnet and St. Albans City and District Council. It was established under a Memorandum of Agreement between the partners in September 1991. A vision for the future Watling Chase Community Forest is a major undertaking, quite different from anything previously attempted in the area. The scale of the project is large in terms of the land and time frame involved. Historic forests were a patchwork of trees, glades, heaths, ponds and settlements. The land was held in a multitude of ownerships, and ancient laws protected the rights of local people to use the products of the forest, which provided rich harvests of meat, fruits, firewood and timber. There are still echoes of this in the New Forest in Hampshire and Epping Angling at Smallford Pit Forest in Essex. Now, we have the opportunity to establish a new wooded landscape in south Hertfordshire and north London, with a similar feel to the original ancient forests. A pattern of different land uses agricultural, forestry, residential, industrial and recreational will exist within landscapes of varying character, scale and tree cover. The Success of Watling Chase depends on the active support of many organisations: national statutory agencies, local government, voluntary bodies and the private sector. The Watling Chase team A Project Director was appointed in September 1991 to promote the concept of the community forest and coordinate its creation. Today, the project team includes a project manager, community liaison officer, part-time administrator/finance officer, community forester dedicated by the Forestry Authority, a secondee from the Countryside Management Service, and a Forest Education Initiative project officer. Administrative and steering arrangements The project is managed by the Director, with overall guidance from the steering group. This comprises two representatives from each of the sponsoring local authorities and an appointee from each of the Countryside Commission, the Forestry Authority, the National Farmers Union, the Country Landowners Association and the business community. Role of the partners The Countryside Commission and the Forestry Commission originated the community forest idea. They manage the national programme of community forests. The Countryside Commission funds 50% of the costs of the project team, and the Forestry Commission, through its Forestry Authority arm, provides advice, research and training. It is the principal source of woodland planting and management grants for farmers and landowners. The four local authority partners Hertfordshire County Council, London Borough of Barnet, Hertsmere Borough Council and St. Albans City and District Council each contributes to Watling Chase in many ways. Together, they fund 50% of the costs of the Watling Chase project team. As landowners they are responsible for much of the existing woodland and recreational areas. As planning authorities they regulate the environment of Watling Chase. As highway authorities they control a key component of its quality. They deliver a range of programmes and services aimed at improving the environment of those who live and work in the area. The local authorities' Countryside Management Service will have a key role in implementing projects at local level because it offers practical advice and assistance to local community groups and encourages links between all those with an interest in the Countryside. In the London Borough of Barnet, the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) is an additional partner, helping to implement local projects. This, the leading national charity helping people to do voluntary work in environmental conservation, employs a field officer in outer London. Several companies have already helped and the Watling Chase team will seek to develop and extend this kind of support. The National Farmers Union and Country Landowners Association are closely involved in establishing Watling Chase, representing their members' interests and concerns, and local representatives sit on the steering group. Many other local and national organisations have offered support and have been involved in preparing this plan (see Acknowledgments). Status of the Plan This Plan has been drafted by the Watling Chase team on behalf of the partners, specialist groups and the local community, all of whom have been involved in its production. It draws its strength from the people it serves and those who live and work within the Forest area. As a non-statutory document, the Watling Chase Forest Plan is in line with existing statutory plans and enhances them. None of its policies, strategies or proposals override the statutory development plans of the local authority partners. Backed by statutory planning policy, the Watling Chase Forest Plan should have a strong and positive influence on the quality of the green belt, on those who have the power to bring about landscape change and on the communities in the area. Its objectives are to: ● introduce the concept of Watling Chase Community Forest and the benefits it may bring to the locality, ● describe the area now known as Watling Chase, ● identify the policies and strategies needed to achieve a community forest in the area, ● show how the vision will be realised, by identifying sources of funding and those who can assist in a variety of ways to take action, ● encourage all communities to get involved and help to implement the Plan's policies and proposals. Consultation The Draft Forest Plan was launched in March 1994, and went through a 3 month public consultation period, ending on 30 June 1994. It received a very positive and encouraging response from a wide variety of organisations and individuals. The Report of Consultation outlines the consultation approach, those consulted and responses received, and analyses these results. The draft plan has been rewritten to incorporate the results of the consultation process and to update information. This final Forest Plan has now been approved by all the sponsors and endorsed by the Department of the Environment as the blue-print for the development of Watling Chase over the next 10 years. Further information If you would like more information about Watling Chase and how to become involved, please contact the team at: Gardeners Cottage Shenley Park Radlett Lane Shenley Herts WD7 9DW Tel: 01923 852641 Fax: 01923 854216 COVER FOREWORD INTRO NATIONAL LOCAL VISION STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTATION HOME National Context ● Background ● Origins of the programme ● Guiding Principles ● Key Questions: whose land, who