A MAJOR development of a new road, college, hotel, 175 homes, two employment sites is proposed on mainly national public forest land which has records of many protected species and is valued by local people for quiet recreation and for studying wildlife.

The development now known as the Cinderford Northern Quarter is to be facilitated by the transfer of public forest estate land to the Forest of Dean District Council and subsequently included the sale of land to private developers.

Before the dissolution of Parliament a ministerial statement on the Infrastructure Bill said that ministers wanted to make it crystal clear that there was no intention to transfer "socially or environmentally important publicly-owned land such as the nation's forests. These forests are not surplus, they are in use."

Bearing in mind that there are alternative sites and alternative solutions for these developments, would the prospective MP candidates make it crystal clear that they will oppose the change of use and transfer by sale, exchange or lease of our national public forest at Cinderford Northern Quarter and throughout the district?

– Mary Newton, on behalf of Dean Natural Alliance Littledean.