THE forestry and wood industry is in a "Goldilocks moment" where conditions are “just right” to align industry aspirations with UK Government policies, Confor's annual Westminster conference heard.

Stuart Goodall, Confor's CEO, said industry could deliver a wide range of the Government’s economic, environmental and social priorities - but needed confidence and policy certainty to unlock the potential.

He was optimistic the Labour Government would carry on the positive work of recent Conservative ministers and offer clear political support to forestry and wood. This would manifest itself by partnering on the Timber in Construction Roadmap which “is not a party political issue, just good sense” and the National Wood Strategy for England, as well as secure funding for woodland creation and a stable operating environment.

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Mary Creagh MP, whose ministerial brief includes forestry, voiced clear support for an increase in productive conifer planting and the use of more home-grown wood in her opening address. She praised the previous government for scaling up planting to 4,500 hectares in England - part of a generational high of just over 20,000 hectares across the UK in 2023-24.

She was keen to see the “useful and important” Timber in Construction Roadmap re-endorsed and “hoped to have good news early in the New Year”, and said she wanted “a healthy, resilient and bountiful natural environment with the productive forestry sector thriving and succeeding”.

She said: “We have a statutory tree and woodland cover target which we are working towards as part of our ambition to reduce carbon emissions by at least 81 per cent by 2035. This is a world-leading and incredibly ambitious target. But we need to not just plant trees - we need to make good use of the materials they provide us.

“Labour’s commitment to building 1.5 million homes provides an opportunity to grow demand for the safe use of timber in construction, and increasing the safe use of timber in construction in England will help reduce embodied carbon in the built environment and drive investment into tree planting, forest management and domestic supply chains, while also creating new green jobs in every nation and region of the country.”

In conclusion, she stressed that progress could only be made if the government, industry, landowners and communities worked together towards shared goals.

Forestry Commission CEO Richard Stanford said the industry was well-positioned to support all the Government's main missions, and what it delivered mapped very clearly to all Environment Secretary Steve Reed’s five goals - including moving to a zero-carbon economy, supporting nature recovery and reducing flood risks.

Ms Creagh also called on the forestry and wood industry to “inspire the next generation of tree guardians”.

Skills was a major topic for discussion at the first meeting of the UK Government’s Tree Planting Taskforce in November - the first time ministers from the UK Government and the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had come together in more than a decade to discuss forestry matters.

At the end of the conference, Confor chair Lord Duncan said conditions were ripe for the forestry and wood industry to find that alignment with Government objectives. “This is our Goldilocks moment,” he said. “Conditions are just right - we are in the right place at the right time and forestry is the answer to so many questions.

“We need to make sure the sector is heard - now - because we need to get it right now, not in 20 or 30 years.”

Forestry Journal will have an in-depth report on Confor's annual conference in a future edition.