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Regional priorities
Read the Regional Priorities for the Central Scotland Region (PDF 44k) arising from the review of the Scottish Forestry Strategy and the deliberations of the Regional Forum around this.
Forum members
Simon Rennie (Chairperson)
I was born and schooled in Edinburgh. I studied forestry at Aberdeen and upon graduating went overseas for 10 years working for Unilever and Inchcape in Nigeria, the Solomon Islands and Malaysia. I returned to the UK in 1990 and completed an MBA at Edinburgh University in 1991. I then spent the period 1991 to 2000 with the Wise Group in Glasgow working on tackling environmental and social issues principally in the West Central Scotland. During this time I ran various charitable subsidiaries of the group and rose to be the Deputy Chief Executive.
In 2001 I joined the Central Scotland Forest Trust as its Chief Executive, a post I remain in to this day. In this role I lead this charity in securing the creation of the Central Scotland Forest and I liaise widely with Local Authorities and a range of parts of Government including the Forestry Commission (FCS) and SNH. In 2010 at the behest of our sponsors (FCS) I took on a new role (splitting my time between this and running CSFT) as the Head of the Central Scotland Green Network Support Unit which is resourced out of CSFT’s pre-existing capacity.
I have a number of external roles as follows:
- Non Executive Committee Member of FCS National Committee
- FCS Audit & Risk Committee – Chair
- Central Scotland Regional Forestry Forum – Chair
- Paths for All – Director
- Helix Trust – Director
- Children 1st (formally RSSPCC) – Trusted
- Children 1st Audit & Risk Committee – Chair
- Yong Fong Ltd (fashion design company) – Director
In 2008 I was awarded an MBE.
Member biographies
Steve Luker, Glasgow (Economic)
- Managing Director of Steve Luker Associates Ltd which was established in 2004 and provides independent consulting services associated with renewable energy technologies, biomass heat and CHP, wood fuels and sustainable development
- In 2009 was appointed as the Mid Scotland regional forest industries cluster facilitator
Nigel Hooper, Glasgow (Environmental)
- Planning manager, East Dunbartonshire Council
- Chair, Environment Sub-Group, Clyde Valley Structure Plan Joint Committee
- Experienced in indicative forestry strategies and urban regeneration
- Board Member of the Glasgow & Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership
- Almost 30 years experience of working with and leading voluntary conservation groups involved in tree planting and woodland management.
Tim Hall, Edinburgh, (Environmental)
- Chartered Forester
- Operations Manager, Woodland Trust Scotland, with an overview of management of all Woodland Trust sites in Scotland and input into policy formulation on forestry matters
- Represents Central Forestry Forum on WIAT, F4P judging panel
- Represents Scotland Environment LINK on number of stakeholder groups
- Strong interest in and long experience in urban forestry at Scotland and UK level.
Dr Grahame Buchan, Glasgow (Social)
- Manager of the Joint Structure Plan for the Glasgow and Clyde Valley area.
- Previous experience with Strathclyde Regional Council. Responsible for strategic policy in environmental and resource planning in transport and IT methodologies.
- Extensive experience of teaching within a number of Scottish Universities.
- Actively involved in developing the role of the METREX European network of metropolitan regions and in leading major strategic planning projects across the EU
- Member of various EU and Scottish Planning Task Groups.
Guy Wedderburn, Perth (Economic)
- Managing Director, Guy Wedderburn, Creative Management Solutions
- Director, Callendar Estate (Biomass) Ltd
- Managing estates in central Scotland
- Experience managing the urban edge and access networks
- Former SNH area board member
- Authored number of strategic land use documents
Chris Norman, Edinburgh (Social)
- Chief Development Control Officer, West Lothian Council
- Professional interest in forestry through planning
- Sound understanding of problems of development, regeneration, mining and environmental justice in central Scotland.
Meriel Young, Edinburgh (Social)
- Freelance consultant in urban forestry development (site design, user experience and infrastructure) and outdoor destination marketing
- Chartered Marketer and BA in Recreation Management
- Previous ministerial appointed board member of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, 2002-2010.
- Wide experience in land use planning policy, corporate strategy, community planning and social regeneration, health promotion, sustainable transport and environmental education.
- Construction Director of BRE Scotland
- Extensive experience in research, consultancy, testing and certification activities related to the built environment
- Member of the Building Standards Advisory committee(public appointment by Scottish Government)
- Director of the Scottish Stone Liaison Group
- Member of various European research consortia and British Standards committees.
Guy Watt (Economic)
- Managing Director of John Clegg Consulting Ltd who are Business, Economic & Rural Development Consultants
- Chartered Forester & Fellow of the Institute
- Forest Economist with a forest management company for 10 years
- 13 years experience with a firm of Chartered Surveyors, Valuers and Consultants
- Completed a wide range of consultancy assignments that include woodland investment, wood processing, wood energy, economic development and urban forestry
- Non-Executive Director of the Central Scotland Forest Trust.
Karen Moore (Environmental)
- Development Director Scotland of The Waterways Trust which is an environmental and heritage charity for the Canals of Scotland
- Associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing
- Chair of the Dalriada Project in Mid-Argyll
- Director of Lambhill Stables
- 17 years fundraising management and voluntary sector experience
- Multi-partner project development & management experience.
Sue Hilder (Social)
- Outdoor Access Officer, Glasgow City Council
- Recent former Vice Chair, BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) UK Board, plus 16 years as a trustee.
- 16 years working in Outdoor Access, including for NFUS, various local authorities/national park and National Access Forum
- Scottish Countryside Access Network committee member
- Previous non-executive director, Glasgow & Clyde Valley Greenspace Trust
- MA Fine Art (Environmental Sculpture)
Rogin Edgar (Environmental)
- Lead Officer Strategic Development in Fife Council
- Member of TAYplan and SESplan Steering Groups
- Experience through involvement in creation of Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership and Forestry Framework
- Personal and professional interest in Forestry and Green Networks
- 14 year experience in Strategic Environmental Planning in England and Scotland
