Forest chief vows to press ahead with controversial changes

11:58am Thursday 9th July 2009

Exclusive By Julian Robinson

THE NEW man at the helm of the troubled New Forest National Park Authority has vowed to press ahead with a controversial blueprint for the area but said changes could be made in light of wide-spread protest.

In his first week in the job interim chief executive Barrie Foley said a redrafted version of the plan could see a revision of initial proposals that included the creation dog-free car parks, imposing curbs on keeping horses and the prospect of road tolls.

The suggestions sparked huge protest across the forest which resulted in a series of demonstrations over the past year.

Mr Foley admitted mistakes may have been made in the handling of how the draft plan was presented.

He said: “There’s a lot of frustration because the wrong messages have been portrayed. You’ve got to be responsible for the messages you send out.

“You are never going to get a totally smooth ride with these kind of situations because lots of people have got different opinions but we could have had a better ride if we communicated better.”

The 51-year-old, who lives in Pennington, faces a turbulent few months before the redrafted version of the plan is published in October but said he would bring his own style of management to the post.

He comes to the job with 30 years business experience from spells at Mars and British Steel to a stint working at the Esso refinery in Fawley.

The father-of-five says he “does not like” the idea of road tolls, wants a “common sense approach” over plans to control how horses are kept for recreational use and talks of “working together” on the issue of walking dogs in sensitive parts of the Forest.

But despite being keen to meet and talk to protest groups like One Voice, Forest Uprising and New Forest Dog Owners, he is still aiming to push the plan through this autumn.

His appointment last week came against a backdrop of controversy at the authority.

Lindsay Cornish quit the post in June after an anonymous letter criticising her management style was sent to one of Britain’s top civil servants. It was purported to have been written by members of her staff at the authority.

Praising his predecessor he added: “One thing I will say is that Lindsay has done a good job. She’s built this establishment and a good team. It’s not all bad news – she’s done a good job. What we’ve got to do is take it to the next stage.

“I walked in to this on day one and spent time with the management team and all the people here and told them what I was about and what my views are – it’s an open door policy.

“I’ve learned from my days of being on the shop floor that all people are important in the link whether I’m talking to ‘Lord So And So’ one day or a forklift truck driver the next.

In the next few weeks, he is due to meet with the major protest groups – but added he would “not just listen to people who shout the loudest.”

He added: “I‘m getting around as many people as I possibly can and I am going to try with the next version of the plan that comes out to get more of those views in.

“I’m not going to please everybody. In every walk of life there are some people who like it and some people who don’t – all I can say is judge me going forward.

“I can’t do anything about the past or what people’s perception of the past is, I can only go forward.”

New Forest Dog Owner’s Group press officer Heather Gould said she had been encouraged by Mr Foley’s approach so far.

But she added: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating and how the plan comes out.

“The hope is that he will recognise the controversial nature of some parts of the plan and change the wording so that it reflects the working together of all the groups.

“But we are quite hopeful and optimistic at the moment because he is taking a very different view.”