THE Forest of Dean Verderers, the body with a sworn duty to protect the Statutory Forest on behalf of the Crown, say they are firm in their resolve to take all appropriate action to ensure that the Forest will not be sold.

In a statement issued following a meeting with MP Mark Harper at The Speech House last week, they say: "The Verderers applaud the efforts of HOOF and fully support their actions of 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."

The Verderers add that it should be appreciated that as representatives of the Crown they cannot enter into a public debate of a political nature.

They add: "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 sought to protect the Forest from the possibility of sale and the present Court members will do likewise."