THE following is an open letter to the Prime Minister.

'I live in the Forest of Dean and I am very concerned about your proposals to sell the Forest of Dean to the private sector.

There are several thousand homeowners in the Forest of Dean that only have access from the public highway to their property across Forestry Commission land. Access to some homes is across only one metre of Commission owned land but the vast majority, like myself, have to cross 100 metres or more of Forestry Commission land to reach our homes. 

This is part of the beauty of living in the Forest of Dean.  Unrestricted vehicular access across this Forestry owned land has always been granted to the owners of such property. This land is often designated "waste land" and is generally not planted with trees or fenced.  In other areas of the UK this land would probably be called "common land".

Your proposals that all rights and privileges of access across previously owned Forestry Commission land would be preserved, is quite acceptable. However by law this cannot be binding on the second or third owners.  There is a great possibility that the second owner could charge rent to cross their land.  The unfortunate homeowner's will have no alternative but to cross this new owner's land to gain access to their homes.

Furthermore, the new landowner is perfectly within his rights to fence his newly acquired land and restrict the access to pedestrian only.  This would most certainly adversely affect the resale value of very many homes within the Forest of Dean.

The uncertainty would be very distressing, especially to the elderly.

The Forest of Dean is unlike many other large forestry estates that have vast areas of commercial woodlands and are relatively uninhabited.  The Forest of Dean is different. It is a very old forest which over the centuries has become populated with a considerable number of the older type of house, often hidden within the forest, some distance from a public highway.  All these homes are at risk if the Forest is sold.

By selling the Forest of Dean, the government will be putting our homes and the Forest of Dean heritage at great risk.   I speak for the vast majority of Forest of Dean home owners when we say: 'Please do not sell the Forest of Dean to private investors.'

Please retain the Forest of Dean under the ownership of the Forestry Commission, as it is at present.

– Graham Yeates, Forest Road, Bream.