Write to your MP:
Click on this web site to open up a new page called "WriteToThem".Then use the text on the right to act as a guide to write your letter to the MP.
If you are writing a letter the address of your MP is
House of Commons
Westminster
SW1A 1AA
London
List of MPs in Devon:
Ben Bradshaw (Lab) - Exeter
Hugo Swire (Con) - East Devon
Mel Stride (Con) - Central Devon
Neil Parish (Con) - Tiverton and Honiton
Anne-Marie Morris (Con) - Newton Abbot
Adrian Sanders (LD) - Torbay
Geoffrey Cox (Con) - Torridge and West Devon
Nick Harvey (LD) - North Devon
Sarah Wollaston (Con) - Totnes
Gary Streeter (Con) - South West Devon
Alison Seabeck (Lab) - Plymouth Moor View
Oliver Colvile (Con) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Or you can write to the Lord Bishop of Exeter in the Lords, by clicking on this link.
Back to Save Haldon Forest Home page
Typical Letter to your MP:
Use some of the following phrases as a guide for your letter. Your letter will have more influence if it is not cut and pasted...
I am writing to urge you to oppose the Government’s proposals to sell off Forestry Commission forests in England.
Our forests have been public land for generations: as far back as the Magna Carta in 1215.
These proposals represent a great loss of amenity for the millions of British people who visit the national forest estate every week and wish to continue their enjoyment of it.
I believe that the proposals are ill-judged and poorly conceived, and represent nothing less than a massive asset stripping exercise.
The forests effectively belong to us, and the Forestry Commission exist to look after the forests in our interest.
The current bill; Public Bodies Bill includes no detailed provisions that would prevent the forests being sold off and exploited at will.
The forests and woodlands in this country are wonderful ecosystems, both newly established and ancient, and provide society with a wider range of services than any other land use. A safe haven for biodiversity, a growing carbon store, flood regulation, a magnificent natural landscape, and a natural treasure for increasingly urbanised British people.
The financial value lies not in the forest, but in the land, particularly if you can get the trees off it. This is what the public recognises, and why more than 148,000 people have already signed an online petition http://www.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-forests opposing any sell off.
Studies show that being close to green space encourages exercise, and therefore helps to fight obesity. Lack of physical activity costs the economy in England alone over £8 billion a year. Far more than could possibly be raised by the forest sell off.
The forests are a natural treasure store that should remain in public ownership rather than become privatised, which would mean that we would lose the forest forever.
Forests are net absorbers of carbon dioxide while they are growing, but then release the gas when they are cut down. The sell off gives no guarantee that the forests will not be sold for logging.
Woodland also performs a variety of valuable natural "services" to the ecosystem, including carbon sequestration, protecting soils from erosion, reducing flooding, providing shelter, shade, cooling and windbreaks, and conserving biodiversity.
Our forests should be safe in the hands of the public, managed sustainably, and free for future generations to enjoy.
I hope to hear from you shortly.
Yours sincerely