Forestry Commission scraps Magna Carta right to collect woods from forests

The right of people to collect wood from Britain’s forests that was created under the Magna Carta has been overturned due to health and safety fears. The Forestry Commission has scrapped the right, enshrined in the “Great Charter” at Runneymede in 1215, in order to stop people picking firewood from woodland.

Instead they suggest people buy wood from local firewood merchants allowed into the forest, something critics argue is “carbon intensive” due to the use of vehicles to move the wood.

Mike Kamp, 59, has been collecting cheap fuel for his wood-burning stove for the last 12 years. Previously he was allowed to buy a 30-day licence form the Forestry Commission for £10.50 for access to their land, which would have given him enough wood to last the winter.



The retired builder from Trefriw, north Wales, said: “The Magna Carta states that a common man is allowed to enter forests and take deadwood for firewood, repairing homesteads, fixing tools and equipment and making charcoal.” He added: “Now they’ve stopped issuing licences and they are giving the reason as health and safety issues. But people have walked through the woods collecting firewood for hundreds and hundreds of years without too many safety problems.”
Peter Garson, Forestry Commission Wales Head of Estate Management said: We have a duty of care to the public in our woodlands and a much higher duty of care where we issue permission for particular activities.”

Referring to Mr Kamp, he added: “In the past we have tried to accommodate such requests and we understand his disappointment in this instance. But this is an area where we are subject to increasing constraints in terms of Health and Safety.”