Annual Review 2003
2002/03 has been another sucessful year for the Community Forest project as can be seen from the range of articles contained in this year's Annual Review. Tree planting exceeded the last year's total largely due to the completion of the Saffron Green project that has successfully combined tree planting and over 30 hectares of habitat restoration with access improvements. There were also a number of other projects of note that ranged from Greenways and Open Space improvements to the creation of a new bike park. These "larger" projects were supported by a variety of smaller community projects. In addition work on the development of Supplementary Planning Guidance was completed and will be adopted in 2003/04. Research was undertaken to identify future projects and work continued to promote Countryside Stewardship, Woodland Grant Schemes and other land management programmes within the Forest area.
2003/04 will see a planned reduction in the financial support from the Countryside Agency in preparation for their complete withdrawal from the Community Forests intiative in April 2005. However, finance will continue to be available to support appropriate projects. For further details on what is available please contact Tony Bradford of the Countryside Management Service on 020 8447 5466 or by email on Tony.Bradford@hertscc.gov.uk.
Peter Davidson
(Chairman of the Project Development Group)