Timber firms express “no confidence” in NRW
5 February 2019Ten companies from across Wales have said they have no confidence in Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to manage forest resources across the country.
The companies, which include Kronospan, Tilhill Forestry, Premier Forest Products and Clifford Jones Timber, co-signed a joint letter from Anthony Geddes, Confor’s national manager in Wales, to Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh minister for environment, energy and rural affairs.
The letter was official notification that the companies had no faith in the ability of NRW “to deliver a commercially viable, sustainable and customer driven service and asked the minister for an immediate review.
Amongst other points the review should consider “the case for removing the commercial forestry division from BRW’s structure and its operation as a separate entity within Welsh government; and the importance of commercial timber production to the rural economy of Wales”.
If no action is taken, the letter warns, 12,000 jobs in the rural economy, £100m of new investment over the next five years, mill closures and revenue generation for the Welsh government were all at risk.
Other signatories were Euroforest, Teifi Timber Products, James Davies (Abercych), ETC Sawmills, Pontrilas Sawmills and Charles Ransford & Sons.