Abstract
Woodland is a central component of the British landscape, comprising 13% of UK land, and
contributing £6.3 billion of societal benefits and wider ecosystem services each year.
Woodlands offer a potentially sustainable source for timber and woodfuel, but this is underutilised, particularly for hardwood product, with just 59% of English woodland actively
managed for productive output. Whilst the UK imports £7.5 billion of timber and wood
products annually, there is enough growth in UK forests to enable 90% of the current
demand to be harvested every year, at least until 2045, without impacting the quantity of
trees left standing. The situation in the South East of England is particularly acute, with just
18% of broadleaved woods managed, little processing capacity, the highest percentage of
overdue trees, and a forecast of increasing growth over the next 40 years.
Research and policy aimed at addressing this gap in the extent of woodland management has
previously focused on woodland owners, centred on financial incentives and personal
characteristics, but not on sector-wide impacts limiting sustainable woodland utilisation.
This thesis explores the reasons for low levels of woodland management in the South East of
England through a period of change for forestry in the UK. The research has taken a mixedmethods approach, bringing qualitative perspectives from a broad set of participants across
the sector, including previously neglected actors such as forestry agents. Semi-structured
interviews and questionnaires were used and the results are presented in numerical,
narrative, and graphic visualisation formats.
The research identifies an interconnected set of financial, structural, human and
environmental factors which limit management decision making. Whilst some financial
factors diminished over the research period as the timber market improved, significant
blockers still remain. The research concludes that policy should target the forestry
workforce, rather than woodland owners, in order to increase capacity, skills and
collaboration to drive innovation in a financially buoyant market.