§ 36 and 37. Mr. EDEasked the Minister of Agriculture (1) whether his attention has been drawn to an advertisement issued by the deputy steward of the Crown Manor of Denbigh, which has appeared in the "North Wales Times," inviting persons desirous of making application for permission to encroach upon or fence off common lands to communicate with the deputy steward; whether this invitation to persons to enclose commons has been issued with the knowledge or consent of the Ministry of Agriculture; and whether steps will be taken to instruct those responsible for the management of Crown manors and other estates that no inducements should be given to facilitate the enclosure of commons, seeing that the preservation of such lands as open spaces is prescribed in various statutes passed by Parliament with that end in view;
(2) how many individual encroachments, and the area of each, have been approved in the manor of Denbigh by the Ministry of Agriculture since the Law of Property Act, 1925, came into operation?
§ The MINISTER of AGRICULTURE (Dr. Addison)The advertisement to which my hon. Friend refers, so far from being an invitation to enclose common land, is a warning against unauthorised enclosures. Applications to enclose must be presented in proper form to the Court Leet and are considered by a jury of 868 free tenants of the Lordship. If approved by the Court, applications are then advertised in the local Press, and notice of them is given to the district council and the parish council, so that objections, if any, may be made before the consent of the Ministry of Agriculture is sought. So far, no encroachments in this Lordship have been authorised by the Ministry, but I understand that some applications are pending.