AT the Court held on January 14, 2011, the Verderers as elected representatives of Her Majesty and with a sworn duty on her behalf to protect the Statutory Forest, welcomed the attendance of local Member of Parliament, Mark Harper.
The Verderers applaud the efforts of HOOF and fully support their actions on behalf of the community in drawing attention to the possibility of a sale of the Forest of Dean. This has been a great help to the Court in its own efforts to seek an assurance that such a sale will not in fact take place.
It is to be appreciated that as representatives of the Crown, the Verderers cannot enter into public debate of a political nature.
However, the Court has received an absolute assurance from Mark Harper that the Forest is not to be sold or transferred into private hands. He made it clear that the Government will publish its plans for forestry very soon and that there will be a full and genuine consultation process before any action is taken whatsoever.
The Verderers are and have been addressing this whole issue and are firm in their resolve to take all appropriate action to ensure the Forest will not be sold and that the position established in the 1981 Forestry Act remains unchanged.
The Verderers at that time successfully fought to protect the Forest from the possibility of sale and the present Court members will do likewise.
Clerk to the Verderers