§ MR. COWAN (Surrey, Guildford)To ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, whether application has been made for the consent of the Board under The Law of Commons Amendment Act, 1893, to the appropriation of five acres of Witley Common, near Godalming, in the county of Surrey, for the purposes of a burial ground; and, if so, whether, having regard to the importance of preserving intact all common lands in the neighbourhood of London, and especially in growing residential districts like that in question, the consent of the Board will be withheld.
(Answered by Sir Edward Strachey.) The parish council of Witley have applied to the Board for their consent, under Section 22 of the Commons Act, 1899, to the grant or inclosure, of three acres of common land forming part of Witley Common. The application is now under consideration of the Board, and inasmuch as certain objections have been received it is proposed to hold a local inquiry on the subject.