18 February 2011, KMS news - The UK government has confirmed that plans to sell around 40,000 acres of state-owned forestry have been abandoned.

Environment secretary Caroline Spelman told MPs that the current consultation on the issue had been stopped and that the government will take a different approach to managing the public woodland.

Speaking to the House of Commons, she explained: "We have always placed the highest priority on preserving access and protecting our forests.

"But the forestry clauses in the Public Bodies Bill, published well before we launched the consultation, gave the wrong impression as to the government's intentions."

She added that the government had listened to the public's concerns about the issue and therefore was willing to admit that it had misjudged the situation.

It is understood that a panel of experts will now look at own to encourage biodiversity and examine public access issues instead.