| Name | The Woodlander Initiative |
|---|---|
| Tags | Nazi, Fascist and Ethnonationalist |
| Categories | Organisation |
| Related People/Groups | Patriotic Alternative, The Fyrgen |
| Years Active | 2023 – Present |
| Active Areas | England, Wales |
The Woodlander Initiative (TWI) is a land-buying scheme spearheaded by Simon Birkett (AKA Woodlander), a Wiltshire-based tattoo artist and long-standing far-right activist. In November 2024, HOPE not hate revealed the locations of two plots purchased by TWI close to the village of Llanafan Fawr, Builth Wells, mid-Wales.
Birkett, a former member of the National Front, the British National Party and the Conservative Party, has been involved in Patriotic Alternative (PA) since early 2020. From his “off-grid” cabin near Warminster, Wiltshire, Birkett has built an online following among the far right via his YouTube and Telegram channels and guest appearances on various fascist streams.
In June 2023, Birkett launched the TWI, a land-buying scheme aimed at far-right activists and conspiracy theorists. Purchasing land is a long-standing aspiration for many on the far right, who desire a space in which they can host events with fewer risks or, more ambitiously, to withdraw into “whites only” enclaves.
The project has, so far, raised more than £140,000 from donors and shareholders, and has the long-term aim of owning land in every county in the UK. Birkett described TWI as “a possible avenue to power”, stating an “asset rich” will mean that “we will suddenly, within a very short period of time, become a multi-million pound organisation”. However, at present Birkett is the sole individual listed as a “persons with significant control” for The Woodlander Initiative Ltd on Companies House, suggesting that he effectively controls the company and so too its assets.
The other listed director, alongside Birkett, is Joe Knight (AKA Wessex Nomad), an online content creator from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. Knight has himself purchased a small plot near Llanafan Fawr, on which he and Birkett plan to build cabins for an “off-grid refuge”. Regional TWI groups in the North and South West of England are also looking to purchase plots.
In 2024, the group’s links to PA grew even tighter, as Birkett addressed the group’s annual conference in October and advocated the building of a “parallel society”. PA leader Mark Collett has repeatedly championed TWI and in November, ten PA activists camped at the TWI’s land in Llanafan Fawr.
Others involved in the project include Dan Capp (AKA The Fyrgen), who built TWI’s website.
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