Holiday company expelled over plans

Forest Holidays, an off-shoot of the Forestry Commission, plans to build 68 luxury lodges and tree houses, complete with outdoor hot tubs in the Mortimer Forest on the south Shropshire/Herefordshire border.

The forest is the home of the only herd of the long-haired deer in the world and its meat is recognised by Slow Food England as being part of a collection of British foods which are in danger of being lost, such as unusual varieties of fruits and vegetables, rare breeds of animals, artisan cheeses and traditional recipes.

The organisation represents hundreds of producers, farmers and artisans across the country, and bosses took the tough decision to expel Forest Holidays after hearing of the plans to develop the land.

Objectors claim the development, permission for which is being sought from Herefordshire Council, would ruin the local area and would lead to a loss of tranquillity.

Shane Holland, chairman of Slow Food England, confirmed that Forest Holidays are no longer members.

He added: "Mortimer Forest is incredibly important to Slow Food, it's the home of the Mortimer Forest venison.

"This is a site which is internationally recognised for these deer.

"Slow Food has the Ark of Taste programme which is a catalogue of small-scale quality products threatened by industrial agriculture, environmental degradation and homogenization, to preserve the edible biodiversity of our planet.

"The Mortimer Forest venison is on the list.

"Forest Holidays is proposing a development in Mortimer Forest, but the issue with that is the venison is an Ark of Taste rare heritage food.

"We make very, very few expulsions, we've been in England for 20-odd years and I can count the number of expulsions we have made on one hand.

"We wouldn't want any development on a site which is so special, so rare and so unique.

"Whilst we recognise there is always development happening, it should take place in suitable places.

"This is not NIMBYism, it's an internationally recognised species and a small amount of development will significantly reduce the species for this venison."

A spokeswoman for the Forestry Commission said: "The deer in Mortimer Forest have a very large, rich and varied range and use different parts of the forest depending on their needs, such as feeding or sheltering from inclement weather.

"From experience, as the forest is managed the deer are displaced from areas where for example timber harvesting takes place but there are many more areas that remain quiet and undisturbed and they soon move back into these areas.

"The same would happen at a Forest Holidays site and we know that lots of deer use and are regularly seen on existing operational sites. The ecological enhancement work associated with the project would improve the habitat for deer and other wildlife."

Colin Richards from Save Mortimer Forest said: "Caring for nature and the natural world are key principles of the Slow Food Movement. The Forest Holidays proposal is seen as a threat to this."

As the Journal went to press talks were continuing between Forest Holidays and Slow Food England.