About Epping Forest Consultative Group (EFCG)
We are a member of the Epping Forest Consultative Group which is hosted by the Conservators of Epping Forest, the City of London Corporation, who manage the Forest. It replaces the previous Epping Forest Consultative Committee and is no longer serviced by the central City of London Corporation team.
The Epping Forest Consultative Group will meet three times a year. At each meeting, it will review the papers that the Conservators are planning to take to the next or a future Epping Forest and Commons Committee meeting (see below), where decisions are made about the Forest and its management. Papers include plans and strategies for the Forest, which can include individual site proposals, strategic developments, and policies.
We will receive papers a week in advance of those meetings and will post them here for comment by members.
EFCG Meetings and updates
February 2026: Transport Strategy Workshop is held
This session was designed for EFCG groups to put forward comments on the successes of the previous strategy and what needs to re-enter the agenda. The programme included…
- A presentation from Essex County Council, focusing on the importance of local organisational engagement in the success of transport projects.
- A presentation from Epping Forest District Council covering pollution and wider local environmental impacts.
- A breakout groups section, where different Forest stakeholders discussed ideas about what should be within the new Strategy
The Epping Forest Charity, commented to further conversations with partner organisations and to holding a formal online consultation, though no timeline was given.
[June 2026 Update]: We subsequently condensed our contributions to the workshop into this set of policy recommendations.
[29th June 2026 Update]: As of the 29th June Epping Forest and Commons Committee Meeting, the recommendation to add transport elements into the Visitor Management Strategy, rather than having two separate strategies, was made public.
November 2025: Epping Forest Consultative Group AGM takes place
Discussion points included…
Complementary Land Policy.
This is the name for policy concerning the land formerly known as the “Buffer Lands” around Epping Forest. It was announced that a report, containing a survey of the potential sources of income generation and accompanying strategy for the land was due in the next few weeks.
Change in funding model for the Epping Forest Charity.
More information was provided about the City of London’s move to a “grant-funding model” for funding the Epping Forest Charity. Unlike with the previous “grant-funding” model, which the Charity formerly worked under, the City will only fund operational costs. The Charity will fund the remainder through other income streams, like external grant funders.
Alongside their new fundraising strategies, the Epping Forest Charity will also develop a publicly accessible “framework document”, new website and new branding.
Epping Forest Integrated Visitor Management Strategy
This will be delivered by Footprint Ecology, the ecologists who delivered visitor surveys in 2017 and 2019. The purpose is to identify scope to provide additional infrastructure, divert/promote recreational use in certain areas, and protect the most sensitive areas of the Forest.
Forest Transport Strategy
This will build on the previous Transport Strategy, a collaboration between the City of London Corporation, Essex County and Epping Forest District. Public consultation will be preceded by a workshop in February 2026 where EFCG groups will be invited to put forward comments on the successes of the previous strategy and what needs to re-enter the agenda. Public consultation will take place in spring 2026, with a final draft aimed for November 2026.
[February 2026 Update]: Find more information about the February workshop here[link to the EFCG Feb Workshop
[6th June 2026 Update]: We published our recommendations for the City’s upcoming Transport Strategy
[29th June 2026 Update]: As of the 29th June Epping Forest and Commons Committee Meeting, the recommendation to add transport elements into the Visitor Management Strategy, rather than having two separate strategies, was made public.