Young commoners need ‘viable future’, 13-year-old Will Parry-Norton tells Verderers’ Court

THE future of commoning is at risk unless a viable future is secured, a young commoner is warning.

Will Parry-Norton (13), whose father Andrew is chair of the Commoners Defence Association, voiced his concerns at a recent meeting of the Verderers’ Court.

He said: “My ambition is to follow the legacy of the commoning tradition within my family. I wish to turn out livestock such as ponies and cattle, and contribute towards preserving this unique landscape and heritage, following in the footsteps of my dad.

“At this point in time, I am worried I may not be able to fulfil these ambitions, for a number of reasons.”

He said growing pressures included land and house prices “at an all time high”. He added: “This means that young commoners like me are very unlikely to be able to afford our own holdings by ourselves.

“Visitor numbers are rapidly increasing, and the risk of interaction with our livestock is ever growing. This could not only result in putting tourists at danger, but could further result in myself being sued and the animal being taken off the Forest, and possibly getting put down.

“The loss of our animals is not only a financial loss, but a deeply emotional loss, too, for the commoners and their families.

“I would like to ask the verderers to remember that as a young commoner, we need a viable and secure future to be able to continue. I am proud to be a commoner and I hope I always will be.”

Speaking afterwards, Andrew told the A&T: “The youngsters are facing an abyss – they are right on the edge – and it is down to us to look at ways to help them.

“At the moment, with the demise of the Basic Payment Scheme we’ve got a large funding gap coming up and it could be a couple of years away until there’s another one.”

In the past, commoners who turned cattle and ponies out onto the Forest received a subsidy payment under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

However, following the UK’s departure from Europe, the government announced BPS would be phased out by 2027, with a 15-20% reduction in payments each year.

A new Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS), which pays commoners according to the environmental benefits they deliver, is currently being developed by DEFRA, but confusion continues about how it will be implemented in the New Forest.

Andrew said the situation was “a perfect storm”, with animal feed “through the roof”, an increase in financial incentives to put older cows into the food chain, and higher lamb prices.

He added: “What we’re facing is an aging population of commoners and we are trying to persuade youngsters there is a future in commoning – but they’ve got to be offered a viable future.

“It is something we are all aware of, but it is worrying for young commoners and it will affect the Forest – it will ultimately change the ecology.”

The Verderers’ Court will respond to the presentment at its next meeting in September.