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[luresalive]

I've emailed the Minister, Dard and 3 local mp's..DUP, UUP and SDLP..the only one to get back to me Was Alban Maginness of the SDLP, he was very sympathetic to the plight and has instructed one of his collegues to write to the minister asking for a meeting to discuss this issue..Well done for him, shame on the other 2 parties for not even bothering to reply.

I also wrote to my MLA who is UUP and did get a reply stating the party are taking action on this so I think you're a bit premature in shaming them.

Simply put, I think you're wrong.

[Paul72]

And why am I wrong?

[admin]

Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland Press Release
For immediate release 4 July 2011

Contact Niall Bakewell on 077 292 08005 or email niall.bakewell@foe.co.uk

No Mediaeval Curfews for Northern Ireland’s Forests

Friends of the Earth today stated their opposition to a “mediaeval” byelaw[1], proposed by Northern Ireland Forest Service.

The proposed byelaw would forbid access to Forest Service land between sunset and sunrise, unless permission was granted by the agency.

Friends of the Earth Activism Co-ordinator, Niall Bakewell, said:
“This byelaw is reminiscent of the arbitrary restrictions imposed on peasants by their feudal landlords in the middle ages. It would run completely counter to the principle of free access to green space for Northern Ireland citizens.  Our right to roam on privately owned land is inadequate to the point of being almost non-existent.  For us then to have restrictions put on our movements on land that we collectively own would be a blow to liberty that we will not tolerate.”

He continued:
“The vast majority of people who are on Forest Service maintained land at night are there for perfectly legitimate reasons.  In winter it would become almost impossible to enjoy this amenity without breaching the proposed curfew.”

Forest Service recently closed a public consultation on its proposed byelaws, and Friends of the Earth has reason to believe that the majority of respondents on this issue objected to the curfew.

Mr Bakewell said:
“We fully support Forest Service in protecting and improving the land that they control on our behalf, and we agree with byelaws that restrict risky or damaging behaviour such as carelessness with fire, or littering.  The agency should be able to police such behaviour without resorting to a blanket ban on access to their sites after dark.  In fact, we would argue that the continued presence of law-abiding citizens on Forest Service maintained property at night will ensure constant public vigilance and discourage those who would want to use this land inappropriately.”

He continued:
“We support those who are campaigning against this byelaw, especially the www.ni-wild.co.uk blog.  We hope that Forest Service listens to everyone who has objected to their proposed curfew, and chooses to abandon this policy entirely.  Forest Service land is our land, and we must be allowed to enjoy it without undue interference.”

 

ENDS

http://www.foe.co.uk/northern_ireland/press_releases/forest_curfew_04072011.html

[Paul72]

Any more news on this?

[ChuckMcB]

Not much of an update, from the "COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT" TUESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2011:

6. Presentation - DARD – Forestry Land Byelaws

The following officials joined the meeting:

Mr Malcolm Beatty, DARD;
Mr Michael McCann, DARD;
Mr John Joe O'Boyle, DARD

The officials briefed the Committee and this was followed by a question and answer session.

Agreed: The Committee noted the responses submitted to the Forestry Bye-laws consultation and discussed the issues raised with the officials, including representations made by the Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee. Members expressed concerns about the restrictive, rather than the permissive, tone of the proposed Bye-Laws. Members agreed that the Department should return to the Committee with a draft copy of the proposed bye-laws in due course.

3.41 pm Kieran McCarthy and William Irwin re-joined the meeting.
3.56 pm Dolores Kelly left the meeting.
4.01 pm Willie Clarke left the meeting.
4.16 pm Willie Clarke re-joined the meeting.

During this item Trevor Clarke Declared an Interest.

(source)

[admin]

Interesting. Wonder what changes this will bring.

[ChuckMcB]

Unfortunately (HA!) the recording of the meeting has been removed from the web site so we can't tell what exactly was said, but I've added the recordings to my RSS feed to catch them the next time around.

Just looked at the new bye-laws for the first time last night (sorry if this is old news but I can only see discussions about the 'access during hours of darkness' bit of the byelaw). (link PDF - right click save as)

Bans erecting tents/tarps/shelters:

General management
11.—(1) A person shall not—
(a) erect, set up or place any post, rail, fence, pole, tent, booth, stand building or structure of
any kind otherwise than for the purpose of camping, without the permission of the
Department;

Camping
12. A person shall not erect a tent or use a vehicle, caravan or any other structure for the purpose
of camping unless—
(a) with the permission of the Department; and
(b) in an area designated for camping.

Bans burning wood dead or alive - only allowed barbeques/camping stoves:

Protection of property
6. A person shall not—
(b) drop or leave any lighted match, tobacco, cigar, cigarette or other burning material, or set
fire to any tree or vegetation whether living or not

Protection general
10.—(1) A person shall not light any fire or stove other than a proper barbeque or camping
stove.
(2) The barbeques and camping stoves referred to in paragraph (1) may only be lit—
(a) in designated areas; and
(b) in such a manner as to safeguard against damage or danger to any person, wildlife,
building, structure, tree, shrub or vegetation

Bans cyclists using dead trees for ramps:

Protection of forestry land and wildlife
7.—(1) A person shall not —

(b) dig up, remove, cut, run over or injure any tree, shrub or plant, whether living or not, or
remove the seeds (except picking common berries or fruits or other edible plants or
fungi, provided that these are taken for personal use only);

Bans Christmas Camps:

General management
11.—(1) A person shall not—
(c) organise any event, show or exhibition without the permission of the Department;

It's an interesting situation, they need these bye-laws to use against folks setting fire to the forests as we had at the start of the year (or folks cutting down trees jut for shits'n'giggles, but by doing so they have to clamp down on folks like ourselves. Shame, but I can't see how they can avoid it. Will be interesting to see how this pans out.

[ChuckMcB]

Either way it's a £50 fine

[LandyLiam]

only £50 ! you got off lightly

[Paul72]

So does this mean that we're all going to be breaking the law now for even small things???

[DryBag]

we won.

Or to put it more accurately, common sense prevailed.

[Oisín]

we won.

Or to put it more accurately, common sense prevailed.

How have we won? Is there something obvious that I'm not seeing?

[Paul72]

we won.

Or to put it more accurately, common sense prevailed.

I'm mystified too as to how you see this, or do I note heavy sarcasm?

[RedLeader]

The 2 biggest points of contention in the new byelaws were that no bicycles would be allowed in forests except in designated areas and that it would be illegal to be in a forest for any reason between sunset and sunrise. Whether the Assembly requiring that the rules be slackened address either of these issues is still to be determined.

So does this mean that we're all going to be breaking the law now for even small things???

[whoRya]

I'm sure the dogging community is on tenterhooks.

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