Lactodorum Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 After lengthy negotiations I have reached an agreement with The Forestry Commission, South East England District whereby for an initial trial period of 1 year, they will allow geocaching to take place in their forests. This is subject to certain conditions which are basically those already agreed with the North Wales district but with the addition that no caches will be allowed in leasehold woods, SSSI’s or SAM sites. You will realise that these conditions will have little practical restriction on cache placement as they already form part of our own guidelines. There are certain practical things to work out with the cache review/listing procedure but they are for Eckington and I to sort out. The only impact on cache placers will be that the review process may take a little longer than usual. During the trial period they will be assessing the impact geocaching has on the environment and forestry operations and will gain a better understanding of how it all works in practice. This is excellent news and my thanks go to everyone who has contributed to getting this agreement. I would also like to thank the Forestry Commission people for the positive way they have worked with us and I trust the trial will prove so successful that they will be able to make the arrangement permanent. Finally I would urge you NOT to start flooding us with caches on FC land until we have got things working smoothly!! Quote Link to comment
markandlynn Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Well done! Keep up the good work Quote Link to comment
+Fayrewood Foragers Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Well done - how far west does the south east cover? (if that makes sense) Quote Link to comment
+MarcB Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Great news Lactodorum! MarcB Quote Link to comment
SlytherinAlex Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 (edited) And all done without the need for committee elections and all the BS that goes with that. Well done. Edited August 18, 2004 by SlytherinAlex Quote Link to comment
+Cave Troll and Eeyore Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 More great news Well done from us Quote Link to comment
+Rocky Balboa Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 WELL DONE! great news for everyone. Quote Link to comment
+The Wombles Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 This is excellent news, well done. Quote Link to comment
+washboy Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Absolutely, well done Lactodorum! You're a star Quote Link to comment
+paul.blitz Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 After lengthy negotiations...... Peter! Many thanks to you, and everyone else, who has been involved in the many negotiations / discussions with the various people at the FC. I know that a lot of these discussions go on quietly in the background, and whilst they happen, there's not a lot you can report on, lest someone gets the wrong end of the stick, so to speak. The best bit of news in all this (and one that most are probably unaware of) is that FC were wanting to require "us" (GAGB? GeoCaching.com? Individual cache placers?) to have public liability insurance - but this requirement has been waived. (that was the main reason that nothing had happened regarding permission for caches in the New Forest!). So, VERY good news! And a VERY big Thank You! Paul Blitz GAGB Quote Link to comment
+Bill D (wwh) Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 That's really excellent news indeed! Many thanks to Lactodorum and to the FC South East! Quote Link to comment
+MoonHerb Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Any more news on the South West (Forest of Dean) situation ?? My contact is still refusing to reply to my emails ? Can anyone let me know the best way to start a dialog ?? Should I keep emailing or should I be 'phoning the offices ?? Quote Link to comment
nobby.nobbs Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 great news, well done for all the hard work. as has been asked what area does this cover? new forest included? any special requirements for approval? i don't envy you guys. you can almost hear the stampede of cachers going into the woods this weekend armed with new caches to hide. how many new caches are going to be up for grabs early next week! ftf galore. cheers Quote Link to comment
+The Forester Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Lacto, Many thanks for your hard work on our behalf. Are you also in contact with the Scottie part of the Forestry Commission? Are they yet amenable to geocaching on their patch? Cheers, The Forester Quote Link to comment
Lactodorum Posted August 20, 2004 Author Share Posted August 20, 2004 As it's very early days with this new development and proper communications have still to be established I have little extra information to share (if any!). I don't yet have an exact picture of the extent of the area covered but I do know that the New Forest is NOT covered by the agreement. I will not be pushing for other areas to be included (e.g. Scotland) until we have proved this particular arrangement is working, so patience is still required by all. As for the sprawling forests of the South East being invaded by tupperware toting hordes this weekend (what a picture that conjures up ) I would advise against it. There's already a bit of a backlog in the "queue" that Eckington and I will be working on before considering any new ones. As I said - a little bit of patience please. Quote Link to comment
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