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INFORMATION BULLETIN

Ref: 287/08
Date: 29 August 2008

Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR
Out of hours telephone 020 7270 8960

Consultation meeting: Management of risks from Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae

Defra has invited horticulture stakeholders to discuss the consultation on the future management of risks from Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae.

The meeting will take place from 13.30 – 15.30 on 1 October 2008 at the Stoneleigh Park Exhibition and Conference Centre near Coventry.

There will also be presentations from Central Science Laboratory and Plant Health officials and a question and answer session.

If you are interested in attending the meeting on 1 October please register with Margaret O’Donnell at:
Ground Floor, Foss House,
Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green,
York, YO1 7PX
Tel: 01904 455182
Email: margaret.odonnell@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Defra are conscious of offering value for money and the cost involved with running this meeting.  Consequently the meeting will only go ahead if we have 20 confirmed attendees by 19 September 2008.  If the meeting needs to be cancelled those who have registered an interest in attending will be contacted to advise them of the cancellation and offer an alternative opportunity to discuss points of particular interest.

Notes to Editors

  1. Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae are fungus-like pathogens which can kill some types of shrubs and trees, such as the European beech, and pose a threat to garden plants, woodlands and native heathland. The presence of Phytophthora ramorum in Great Britain was first detected in 2002, and the first discovery of Phytophthora kernoviae in Great Britain occurred in 2003.

  2. On 15 July 2008 a consultation on the future management of the risks of Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae was launched by Defra, the Forestry Commission, and the Welsh Assembly Government.

  3. The consultation paper seeks views on where the level of disease management should be set in the future.   It asks whether controls should be reduced to a level which meets the minimum requirements set by the EU, but which may involve some continued disease spread within England and Wales; or whether a programme of increased activity aimed at reducing the presence and potential spread of the diseases should be implemented.

  4. Views are sought from stakeholders including private landowners, managers of public and historic gardens, nurserymen and garden centre managers, importers and exporters of plants, those with responsibility for managing woodland and heathland environments, and the public who visit the countryside and gardens.

  5. The consultation will run until 10 October 2008. A copy of the consultation document can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/phytophthora-ram-kern/

 

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Page published: 29 August 2008

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs