Bartley couple’s plea for Verderers to support for land swap after Forestry England asks for extension built on its land to be demolished

A BARTLEY couple are hoping a land swap deal will prevent the demolition of their brand new extension built on Forestry England land.

The national park authority last year granted Wayne and Natalie Noke permission for the build unaware the land was only licensed from FE – an agreement made 40 years ago with a previous owner of his property, Forest Cottage.

FE is now asking the pair to pull down the structure, but they hope a land swap deal will solve the problem, with Mr Noke asking the Verderers to support his request.

Revealing he purchased Forest Cottage and Forest Glade in 2021, Mr Noke said: “Unfortunately our solicitors and conveyancers did not pick up the licence because it’s not on the Land Registry and it’s not on our title deeds.”

“Now they [Forestry England] have asked us to pull it down. It’s a brand new oak extension and it is on Crown land – we’re aware of that now.”

Speaking at a meeting of the Verderers Court, Mr Noke continued: “We have now discovered, following a visit from Forestry England, that the cottage has a strip around it on three sides that does not belong to us, but has been granted a licence for use since 1983 to enclose said land.”

“The new extension that sits on the land is approximately 15 square metres. The whole property itself sits within approximately eight acres, with mainly direct Forest boundaries.”

Mr Noke said when they bought the properties in 2021 they were made aware of only one Forestry England licence and, despite discussions with the authority and searches by their solicitor, they were unaware the land was not owned by them.

“The licence we have never had sight of until now,” said Mr Noke , adding: “We have now spoken to the previous owners and they have advised that they were also never aware of any of the licences and only became aware when we raised it.”

Claiming the land has been fenced off around the cottage for over 40 years, under the licence, Mr Noke said the area had been inaccessible to commoners and their stock during this time. “We are sure that it would come as a great surprise to many commoners that it is even Forest land.”

Stating that both he and his wife were “totally unaware” of the ownership issues when they bought the property and subsequently applied for planning permission to extend it, Mr Noke said they were now keen to find a resolution benefitting all parties. He said: “A lot of land is post and rail fencing with direct Forest access, and what we would like is to release a parcel of land for a land swap to benefit the commoners.”

He said: “If we were given permission, the commoners, the New Forest National Park and Forestry England would benefit from land that would be accessible for all. We reiterate that this land that is currently covered by the licence has been fenced for over 40 years, with no access rights to the aforementioned stakeholders.”

A spokesperson for Forestry England said: “We have been in discussion on this matter with Mr Noke directly and via legal representation since the very early stages of the building work.

“The issues focus on building carried out on Forestry England land designated and protected as part of the New Forest. Whilst these discussions are ongoing we can’t provide further comment.”

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