Building new opportunities for timber

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Contact
Mike Over
(+44) (0)8456 040845

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Croeso i Gymru a chroeso i gynhadledd GATE ac i Gaerdydd
(Welcome to Wales and welcome to the GATE conference and to Cardiff)

Welcome everyone to Wales and Cardiff and to this conference - especially our partners from Thuringia, Pormorskie, Slovenia and Estonia who have travelled to be with us.

I am delighted to welcome so many delegates from the GATE regions and from across Wales and am extremely sorry that I cannot be with you for this conference.

I think GATE is an exciting project enabling its stakeholders over the last three years to see how each of our different countries is using timber in many different ways, learning from each other, building up and benefiting from an unrivalled pool of knowledge.
The goals of GATE and the aims of the Interreg 3c Network programme mesh closely with those of the Welsh Assembly Government. And it is especially pleasing to see how Forestry Commission Wales, on our behalf, is helping to build valuable links with our European Union partners through this Welsh-led project.

The aim of GATE is to find new ways of adding value to the timber we grow. This, coupled with the goal of finding long-term solutions to rural regeneration is close to all our hearts as partners in this field.

GATE has also coincided with a heightening awareness of global warming and our shared responsibilities to combat climate change. Although not written into the original application, GATE contributes to the Government's aims and goals in relation to climate change and sustainable development.

The links, networks and exchanges of knowledge and experiences - which I know have already grown strong and borne fruit between us - can only help us all as we move forward.

Our trees, woodlands, forests and timber industry have a key role to play in helping each of our countries provide new work opportunities, increased rural incomes and reduce our carbon footprint.
Our woodlands are attractive, they enhance the landscape and many already deliver a range of social and economic benefits to the people of Wales - but they have the potential to deliver even more of the Assembly Government's objectives. We must continue to promote the need for independent certification of woodland, as has been achieved by the public estate owned by the Assembly Government in order to ensure it is well managed and sustainable over the long term.

Sustainability for us is more than just a buzz-word. It means balancing our needs - jobs and wealth creation - with those of the environment to make sure that whatever we do today will benefit future generations. We must continue to work hard to find sustainable solutions and increasingly adopt the use of renewable materials.

Timber enables us to do this. There is no more sustainable a building material than wood. It locks away large amounts of carbon. It is a light-weight, attractive and flexible material with high insulation properties that will help to drive down the carbon footprint of our construction industry. What's more it can be grown, processed and used locally - so reducing 'timber miles'. It can also be much more aesthetically pleasing than many of its competing building materials. You only have to have spent time in a house or building with a high proportion of wood to know how enjoyable it is to live or work in such an environment.

Local timber - using the latest technology such as heat treatment and engineered wood can play a valuable role in construction, adding value and providing local jobs and importantly, can reduce build times.

In fact it is this speed of build coupled with its' energy efficiency that has led Wales to become a leader in the construction of multi storey wooden buildings. Across Wales, universities and other institutions looking for quick and economic solutions to accommodation needs have turned to wood and timber-frame construction. In 2000 one of the tallest timber-frame buildings in Europe at the time was built close to the Forestry Commission Wales headquarters in Aberystwyth.

I am convinced about the use of timber in construction. In fact I recently asked Forestry Commission Wales to investigate the potential for constructing an exemplar sustainable house using Welsh timber and environmentally-sustainable features to show-case its potential to builders.
I am convinced that it makes sense environmentally, commercially and socially. But your job is to take the information you have now and - working together - convince the architects, builders, planners, policy makers, insurance companies and mortgage providers of its value and benefits.

There is a huge opportunity here to build on 'Timber for Tomorrow's Europe' - you must grasp it and make it happen. There is much to be done. The potential is great, and I am sure together we will be able to achieve much more.

Please enjoy your time together here in our capital city. Do not let this, your final conference be an end to this hugely valuable project - but rather the beginning of a major push to make timber accepted as a truly modern building material.

And who knows, maybe we can look forward to welcoming you back again to Cardiff as we continue to work together in Europe for the benefit of all.

Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi gyd.
(Thank you all very much).