Laws on Scavenging for Wood?

MadOldBint

Hello everyone

Not sure if this is the totally right place for this thread but --- does anyone know what the law (if any) is on scavenging for wood for my wood-burning stove.

Currently we pick up fallen or cut and left to rot branches or trunk pieces from places like verges, public access woodlands, country parks and the like and various members of the public have verbally abused us and said that we are breaking the law and stealing.

I thought that so long as no living wood was cut, and no form of trespass onto private land was committed, then it was no offence to scavenge. But maybe I'm wrong .........?

Debt_Free_Chick

Technically it's theft as the land and everything on it is owned. In the case of a verge, the owner is usually the Local Authority.

Public Access woodlands, country parks "and the like" ...? Well, someone owns the land.

You may have a "Right of Way" but that's usually just to cross the land and not to take anything you find there.

Having said all of this, owners of land to which the Public have access/right of way are not usually bothered if you forage on it. But technically, you have no lawful right to anything you find.

muckybutt

The forestry commission used to do a £10 a year license to forage for wood but I think they recently scrapped that on elf n safety grounds.
Suppose its a bit like taking sand from a beach, it there and theres loads of it, its free access to the public - however it is an offence to remove it

SailorSam

In our council dump, they have separate skips for everything,including wood. If yours is the same see will they let you take stuff out, you may need to buy them a pint.

dander

I think taking wood from managed woodland and country parks is very different from logs that have fallen on verges.

If things are going to be cleared away at some point anyway, then I don't see any harm in taking it, but in woodlands the logs are a part of the ecosystem and you are affecting the environment by taking them. This is especially important in places where the land is being managed because the logs may well be left there, or even placed there, deliberately to encourage certain species of flora and fauna. Just because it's rotting doesn't mean it isn't serving a purpose. There may be species that are endangered or being monitored and to destroy their habitat for the sake of your wood-burning stove seems very, very wrong to me.

However, if you are gathering up fallen branches from the roads and verges after a windy day, then I can't see that that's a problem.

thebaldwindowfitter

Why go foaraging for logs when you can go to your local timber merchant,fence manufacturer,joinery manufacturer or double glazing companies like us who will let you have timber offcuts for nothing.We actually take our old timber scrap to a farmer and a few locals for them to burn.

ormus

technically its still theft. but ive never heard of anyone being prosecuted over it.
taking a chainsaw to the live wood might be different.

MadOldBint

Many thanks for the replies.

The one about asking local fence manufacturers etc. for their scrap wood is a good idea except that all the joinery firms etc. around here actually utilise their off-cuts by selling them bagged up for people with woodburners like me, lol. Also, I reckon one would have to be careful about what was being burnt since any form of chemical or preservative on the wood is definitely not good!

Hmmm, never thought of the deliberate placing of rotting wood in order to encourage specific flora/fauna aspect (parkland etc). I think I'll need to speak with the local Rangers to see if such items have indeed been deliberately placed thus before taking anything. If not, no doubt said Rangers will turn a blind eye to my Catweasel-type foraging activities following a small bribe (hey! that's OK, everyone has their price and it's gotta be cheaper than a wagonload of green wood masquerading as "seasoned").

As for the occasional self-righteous nosey parker castigating me for theft, I expect they're either jealous because they don't have the bottle to do it (or don't have a woodburner) --- or they have precious little else to do with their time than rant at complete strangers from a position of moral high ground............

jblack_2

It wasn't so long ago that you could get free logs from local tree surgeons etc as it was costing them to dump them.

Just 2 years ago we were able to go the local forestry woodland when the Rangers were thinning the trees. They were more than happy for us to take as much as we wanted. When we went last year they told us they were charging for it now, £30 per cubic metre bag!! That might sound like a lot of wood but that was for uncut lengths so there would have been loads of air in that bag.

Because woodburners/multifuel stoves have become more and more popular it's now very hard to get free wood but there are (legal) ways and means. Keeping your local farmer on-side helps.