Problem was, Shimrod, that the earliest inhabitants of Britain immigrated to a forested environment, and then spent the next umpteen generations cutting down the trees to make room for agriculture, as well as introducing alien plants and animals. Britain is a modified environment and can never be anything else, now.
My point is, ground flora is skimpy in a forested area, and trees, all trees, dry out the ground. That's how it works. Native ground flora belongs under native trees, and also on naturally un-forested ground.
William the Bastard tried to remedy the deforestation trend for his own personal enjoyment, but some of the administrators who followed him have undone some of his good work. The New Forest is still one of the nicest places in the UK, though.

My interests are more with water conservation, and I'm sure that you get as frustrated as I do. It is just that I'd much rather see a dam, or a planted forest, than a dairy farm polluting the stream running through it. Also, the average developer has a name for land reserved under the system of natural succession. He'd call it wasteland, and many local authorities would agree with him, and they are the people who sign compulsory purchase orders.

I wouldn't argue with your principles or aims, just your tactics.