Fivefold rise in grazing rents ‘will drive off ’ New Forest commoners
NEW FOREST commoners have called for an investigation into Forestry England over a “disgraceful” rent increase that has pushed up their monthly outgoings fivefold and forced them further afield.
As a result, forestry workers who have been allowed to live in the National Park and graze their livestock within its boundaries for decades have accused the public body of threatening the future of the New Forest and making it unaffordable for those who help maintain it.
The New Forest Commoners Defence Association claims their monthly rents have risen from £300-£500 to between £1,450 and £2,000, despite the Government stipulating they could only be set at 15 per cent of a commoners’ monthly income in the 1992 Illingworth Report.
They fear a generation of young commoners forced to leave the forest will have “lasting consequences” for the conservation of the landscape.
In an open letter to Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, the association accused Forestry England of “covert exploitation”. Highlighting a four-bedroom home managed by Forest England with a commoning restriction, the workers called the rise “disgraceful”.
The house has been recently advertised for £1,450 rent per month – over 100 per cent of a commoner’s average income. Tony Hockley, the defence association chairman, said: “This is a policy of covert exploitation and privatisation of Crown assets. We have an active group of young commoners who are keen to continue the practice but unable to rent a home close to the grazing.” Bruce Rothnie, New Forest deputy surveyor for Forestry England, said they understood the need for affordable housing but said the Illingworth Report needed to be reviewed to “balance traditions” with the “cost to the taxpayer”.
“We prioritise our housing for staff and continue to offer discounted residential rents to commoners in the New Forest. We have to balance this with the need for financial sustainability to manage the local houses and the cost of caring for the nation’s forests.”