The announcement of the formation of the Dean Oak Cooperative was made at a packed meeting held at the Littledean House Hotel on Thursday September 5th.

40 wood users attended, ranging from joiners, wood turners & furniture makers to builders and restorers.

An opening presentation was made by Tim Orson . He announced that the Dean Oak Company had been formed as the "business branch" of the Cooperative. The Dean Oak Company will be able to raise finance in order to bid for oak "thinnings" being sold by Forest Enterprise. Thinnings is a term used for trees being removed from the Forest to enable the remaining trees to develop to their full size. At present these "thinnings" are being treated as waste . In fact they are no different to the trees that are left behind.
The timber from these trees will be made available at favourable rates to the members of the Dean Oak Cooperative.

Tim outlined the guiding principles of the Dean Oak Cooperative as being sustainability and inclusion. By purchasing oak trees which are presently being turned into cardboard and making timber available for local users, the Cooperative aims to benefit the local economy through local wealth generation. Present use of this King of timbers means that up to 60% of each tree is considered to be waste. The Dean Oak Cooperative wants to change this so that every part of each tree is considered to be useful. The Cooperative calls this its "Total Tree Policy".

The Cooperative aims to develop a range of products from the so called ‘waste’. Tim Orson stated in his presentation that "no part of a tree from the Forest of Dean will be considered to be waste by the Dean Oak Cooperative". A branded image for Dean Oak will be developed which will become associated with high quality goods from the largest oak forest in the British Isles. This trade mark could be used on all goods made by members using timber from the Dean.

The long term aim of the Cooperative would be to establish a retail/exhibition outlet within the Dean. Tim said a key function of the Coop would be strength through unity. By joining a large group of like minded people, it would be possible to afford trade stands and to attend trade fairs with the products made by local members.

Questions from the floor were taken by the Founder Members (all living and working in the Dean; Peter Chamberlain, Christopher Lewis, Edward Odim and Tim Orson. Issues raised included; milling, drying & price of timber and how to develop the Cooperative. Rob Guest from Forest Enterprise & Val Kirby from the Countryside Agency, both endorsed the proposals made by the Dean Oak Cooperative and showed their support.

The meeting closed with 36 of those present joining the Dean Oak Cooperative by paying £1 to become members. The founder members see this as an overwhelming endorsement of the proposals put forward. It was agreed that the first full meeting of the membership would be held in early October. Members were invited to help formalise the aims and objectives of the Coop and asked for any areas of expertise they could offer this new social enterprise.

If you would like to join the Cooperative, or find out more about it, do phone 01594 517297, or contact us via email - coop@deanoak.net