Sheffield City Council to support 7th South Yorkshire Wood Fair

For the past two years the South Yorkshire Wood Fair has been so well received by the people of Sheffield that this year, Sheffield City Council's Parks and Countryside Service have decided to jointly fund the event - evidence of the local authority's commitment to promoting the benefits of trees, woodlands and wood to a wider audience.

The Fair, a free event which is now in it's 7th year, came into being as part of the South Yorkshire Forest Partnership's Forestry Resources Grant (FRG) scheme; a £5million programme which has funded the planting of over a million trees, brought x hectares of woodland into management and provided grant support to 56 timber related businesses for harvesting marketing and processing activities. The role of Wood Fair in this has been - and continues to be - to bring the local timber industries together and promote the development of a sustainable regional network that feeds into local businesses and markets at every level. The Forestry Resources Grant scheme comes to an end this year and with it the Wood Fair's financial umbrella also closes, so the move by Sheffield City Council to work even more closely with the South Yorkshire Forest to make the event happen could not have come at a more crucial time.

Nick Sellwood, Sheffield City Council's Woodland Manager explained why: "The Wood Fair has been a fantastically successful event for Sheffield, and has a genuinely holistic ethos; the local people who come and discover that trees and working woodlands are at the heart of our environment, our communities and our homes get so much out of it, but so do the timber trades and woodworkers."

An active woodland economy with a shared sustainable agenda has emerged in the region - largely as a result of FRG and Wood Fair - and Sheffield City Council is aware of the importance of maintaining this momentum, particularly at a time when sustainable industries are becoming more and more significant for everyone, so we want to help find ways of making sure the South Yorkshire Wood Fair is a permanent fixture on Sheffield's calendar."

Planning for this years event is well underway and aims to tell the story of woods 'from seed to saw to shop floor'. There will also be an area dedicated to wood fuel, chainsaw carving and wood chopping competitions and a spectacular fiery finale.

South Yorkshire Wood Fair takes place 11-7pm, Saturday October 4th, Endcliffe Park, Sheffield. For more information or to get involved please contact the South Yorkshire Forest on 0114 2571199.

Back to news