NORTH Herefordshire Green Party is calling on the head of the Forestry Commission to halt its controversial plans to build 68 holiday log cabins.

The Forestry Commission has held consultation events asking residents for their views on the proposals for Mortimer Forest.

The Greens say the scheme would be inappropriate and damage the much-loved forest.

They are asking commission chairman Sir Harry Studholme to intervene and scrap the plans.

Leominster East councillor Jenny Bartlett said: “Mortimer Forest is a peaceful beauty spot much-loved by people throughout North Herefordshire and beyond.

“It supports a tremendous variety of wildlife – this sprawling holiday park would destroy that.

“The Forestry Commission is approaching its centenary - in 2019 - and its chief, Sir Harry Studholme, recently publicly championed the Commission’s role ‘in safeguarding and protecting the Public Forest Estate now and for the next 100 years.’

“Well Sir Harry, the plans for Mortimer Forest utterly conflict with that worthy objective. We call on the commission to abandon plans for such damaging development.”

The plan by Forest Holidays, in association with the Forestry Commission (which has a 15% stake in the company), would include access roads, car parks, an on-site shop, bar, restaurant and takeaway facilities.

A spokesperson for the Forestry Commission said: “The proposals involve working with one of our many partners, Forest Holidays to enable us to deliver long term benefits for our existing visitors, for wildlife and the local economy through the creation of new overnight accommodation opportunities within a very small part of Mortimer Forest.

“The proposed cabin site sits within an area of conifer forest which was planted in the late 1970s on open farm land.

“The area is therefore not classed as ‘ancient woodland’ as it has only been wooded for a short period and is not currently ecologically rich or diverse.

“Our plan is to enhance this area by converting it over time to a much more diverse forest which has a wide variety of tree and shrub species with a broader age structure.

“This will be achieved through careful thinning and by encouraging natural regeneration, supplemented with planting. “Throughout this process, forest cover will be maintained, meaning the site will be screened from the rest of the forest and surrounding countryside.”