MUCH as I admire the efforts of local councillors to defend the Government, the fact is that the whole episode regarding the future of the Forest of Dean has been a murky shambles. Like many people, the first message I got was that the Forest was going to be sold, probably to the private sector. Then it became an issue of "change of ownership", with various charitable trusts and social enterprise units being mooted as the possible owners. Now that the scale of the opposition has become apparent, there seems to be a lot of hedging and denying, always a sign that something was going on behind the scenes.
This is an issue which goes to the heart of our democracy. If change of ownership of the Forest had been on the agenda at the last election, it is likely that Mark Harper would not be our MP. Of course, it is possible that the scheme is entirely the work of the new Coalition, but if that is the case then we have to congratulate the Government for assembling such a plan, with potential suitors, in such a short space of time.
Dr Chris Nancollas
Yorkley