26th Janaury 2012
Last chance to sign up for faster broadband
The deadline for sigining up to superfast broadband is the 31st Janaury (extrended from the end of last year. It is vital to get as many people and businesses signed up as possible to ensure investment in the Forest of Dean Go to www.gfirst/broadband
25 January 2012
Better work experience for youung people
Brian Robinson speaks at St Peter's School Business Club to promote better links between school and local business. The event included sped dating networking for local businesses with many also indicating their intention to provide more work experience for young people.
20 Janaury 2012
Police to share Forest of Dean Council office
The police have confirmed they are moving into the Forest of Dean Council premises in Coleford. The move that will make savings for both pubic sector organsiations is part of a move to reduce overheads so that money can be invested in frontline services.
10 January 2012
Core Stratey completed
The Forest of Dean Council have published the core strategy that has been accepted by the government. This will underpin planning and development in the Forest of Dean. As well as identifying areas for development over the next 15 years it also provides the basis for ensuring that inappropriate development is not permitted.
30 November 2011
New Newsletter published
2011 Newsletter
22 November 2011
New Youth funding bids open
Youth groups can apply for funding from the Forest of Dean District Council. Bids nust be submitted by 31 December. For more details contact kate.wyatt@fdean.gov.uk
21 November 2011
Mitcheldean gets new health hub
New classes to help people live a healthier lifestyle start with the launch of the Mitcheldean Health Hub.
Every Tuesday a range of classes will be held at Mitcheldean Community Centre through the District Council run project, working in partnership with the local doctors’ surgery.
The area has been identified as a place where a good mix of community health work would be valuable for local people. At 9.15am there will be a Weight4Life class followed by an Exercise Referral Beginners Circuit Class at 10.15am and a Respiratory Rehabilitation Exercise Class at 11.30am. At 1.30pm there will be an Active Balance Exercise Class.
Some of the classes are only open to people who have been referred by their GP. Anyone interested in coming along to a class should contact Forest of Dean District Council’s Community Engagement Team on 01594 812617.
19 November 2011
99 New Homes for Cinderford
With Ensor's move to new premises comes the development of 99 new homes on their former site. The Forest of Dean District Council have appointed Kier Partnership Homes as its partners, with Cinderford Town Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to build 99 environmentally sustainable homes on the site of the council-owned Ensors abattoir in Valley Road. The proposed homes range from one bedroom flats for rent to four bedroom houses to buy
25 October 2011
Annual Audit Letter praise for Forest of Dean Council
from Audit Commision
The annual audit letter from the Audit Commission commends the approach to medium term financial management noting there are plans in place to enable the council to manage long term issues. See the full report at Audit Commisstion Audit letter 2011
27th September 2011
Council Leader praises Cinderford business at new site opening
County Council Leader Mark Hawthorne has praised Cinderford business BASF Metals Recycling in a speech to mark the opening of their new plant in the town this morning. The new plant, in Forest Vale, Cinderford guarantees the jobs of existing workers, and provides some new jobs. BASF Metals Recycling, formerly called Engelhard, recycles engine catalysts to recover metals such as platinum. Cllr Hawthorne, commented“It was a great honour to be asked to speak at the opening of BASF metals recycling in Cinderford. Having the world's lragest chemical company investing in Cinderford is a great mark of confidence in the town.
8th August 2011
New funding for Youth
Young people in Mitcheldean Drybrook Ruardean and Lydbrook can tap into a new fund being adminstered by the District Council. All young people aged between 11 and 19 can apply for funding for a youth activity. For more details see YouthAwardsApplication.doc
29th July 2011
Mitcheldean Fun Day gives boost to Community plan
Orginasiers of the Mitcheldean Community Plan have orgainsied a fund day on the 29th August to suport the community as part of their progress in developing a parish plan.
15th July 2011
Michael Gove (Minster for Education) in Gloucestershire
Brian Robinson speaks about local school issues to Education Minister Michael Gove. In his role as Cabinet Champion Education and Business Links he was keen to focus on school funding in Gloucestershire as well as education in Cinderford and Mitcheldean.
27th June 2011
Mitcheldean Library Action Group plan accepted
Gloucestershire County Council have approved plans by Mitcheldean Library Action Group to run the library. Progress is now dependent on the legal system that is hearing a legal injuction on libraries on 7th July.
17th June 2011
Gloucestershire Employment and Apprenticeships
Meeting Gloucester MP Richard Graham and
26th May 2011
Brian Robinson appointed Deputy Leader
Brian Robinson has been appointed Deputy Leader of Forest of Dean District Council and Cabinet Member for Efficient Council and Planning Policy. Speaking after his appointment he confirmed he would continue to work to deliver saving for the community. With the progress achieved in recent years we are now ale to focus resource on building essential services for the community.
20th April
Vote NO to AV video available
Click to see the video. AV video on You Tube
19th April 2011
Error in postal vote papers in Brooksdean Division
An error in postal votes was detected today affecting residents of Brooksdean voting in the District Council election. Correct District Council postal vote papers are being dispatched on wednesday 20th April and should be delivered by 21st April. The AV referendum papers are unaffected and can be returned.
10th April 2011
Help to save Mitcheldean Library
Complete this survey to help us save Mitcheldean Library. Your views and support are vital.
Mitcheldean Library online survey
30th March 2011
Mitcheldean Library gets first cash boost.
Start up funding of £2,500 will be paid immediately to the Mitcheldean Parish Council to enable the community to develop proposals to run the library. The money will help develop proposals to run a community library. If you are interested in helping please attend the local meetings that are taking place every Thursday in the Library at 7pm.
29th March 2011
A world of books, music and film at your fingertips
Getting your hands on the latest bestseller or chart-topper has never been easier thanks to Gloucestershire County Council’s new virtual library.
The online library will help people to delve into thousands of books, DVDs and CDs at the click of a mouse 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s now much easier to search and order your favourites and you have access to the whole of the county’s stock.
It’s free to reserve online and you don’t have to go far from home to collect your chosen item, with delivery free to your local library. To take a look at the virtual library, go to www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/onlinelibrary. Brian Robinson who is working with the community in Mitcheldean to keep Mitcheldean Library operation welcomed the news. "This will make our community library even better by enabling access to any book in Gloucestershire libraries to be collected in Mitcheldean."
25th March 2011
Giving the most vulnerable a good start
More vulnerable children in Gloucestershire will benefit from free early learning and childcare after the county council was picked for an important pilot.
Gloucestershire County Council is one of only 15 local authorities out of 110 bids to be selected by the Department for Education. It will receive almost £142,000 to improve access to education for disadvantaged two-year-olds near to where they live.
The focus in Gloucestershire will be on improving the lives of children in care and those with special educational needs.
Brian Robinson who sits on the Childrens and Young Peoples Scrutiny Committee comments "Children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have the most to gain from early education but it must be high quality This funding will help us to ensure that some of our most vulnerable children in Gloucestershire will have a brighter future and a solid start to their education."
19th March 2011
Waste to be diverted from Landfill
Gloucestershire County Council’s Cabinet has agreed to push ahead with its residual waste project and the final two bidders have been selected.
At its meeting this afternoon, members agreed that Complete Circle – a consortia of John Laing, Keppel Seghers and Shanks, and Urbaser with Balfour Beaty should be invited to refine their detailed proposals for a waste plant that would deal with the county’s residual waste - that’s the waste left over when we have reduced, reused, recycled and composted all we can.
Both companies propose to build an Energy from Waste (EfW) facility on Javelin Park near Haresfield.
The decision to choose these bids was based on a number of factors including environmental issues and affordability.
The cost of EfW is estimated to be around £500million over 25 years – doing nothing and continuing to landfill will cost £659million.
As well as saving Gloucestershire taxpayers at least £150m, an EfW plant can:
- Generate electricity equivalent to 28,000 homes
- Create recycled building materials, as a by-product of the incineration process –enough to build 500 homes worth per year
- Produce heating that could be used homes or businesses
At the meeting members were clear that any environmental concerns or issues surrounding the design of an EfW facility would be scrutinised carefully before any final decisions are made.
18th March 2011
Forest Expert Panel appointed
The panel that will advise on the future of the Forest has been appointed by DEFRA. A report is expected in the Autumn 2011. To see terms of reference and members of the panel click link. forestry panel details
11th March 2011
Mitcheldean opens new playgroup
Mark Harper opened the new play facilities in Mitcheldean. Also attending was Brian Robinson County Councillor for Brooksdean. The new facilities were built with a government grant.
10th March 2011
Lydbrook Parish Council put back by one week
The next meeting will now be on the 21st March 2011.
9th March 2011
Fire takes life in The Pludds
Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue were called at 05:07 this morning to a house fire at High Beech Road, The Pludds, Ruardean. We received multiple calls from neighbours who stated that a wooden bungalow was on fire and they were concerned as an elderly gentleman lived in the bungalow and they could not confirm if he was home or not.
Two fire appliances from Cinderford and one from Coleford were mobilised to deal with the fire and when they arrived they were confronted by a fully developed fire that had engulfed the whole property.
Although firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were committed to the fire they were not able to save the elderly gentleman.
Incident Commander Beverley Booth said “The rescue attempt was difficult as the roof had collapsed into the structure which made both access and movement for firefighters difficult and was further complicated by gas cylinders being involved”.
Fire Investigation Officers are at the scene at present working with the Police investigating how the fire started.
Deputy Chief Officer Geoff Sallis who was at the scene this morning stated “the crews worked hard to fight the fire and save life, but in this instance it was not possible, as a Service any loss of life impacts on us all and our condolences go out to the family and friends”.
24th February 2011
Forest of Dean Council budget agreed - Council Tax Freeze
At the ful council meeting on the 24 February 2011 the budget for 2011/12 was agreed. Savings totalling £1m will be introduced mostly through changes in working methods to ensure serivces are maintained. Council tax for the District Council, County Council and Police Authority will be frozen for the next year. Parish council precepts vary between Parishes.
10th February 2011
Brian Robinson to host public meeting on future running of Mitcheldean Library
Following a well attended drop in session at Mitcheldean library many people wanted to know more about the possible options available and a further meeting has been arranged for Thursday 17th February. 7pm at the Community Centre.
4 February 2011
Plans to stop lorries using rural roads
Local Authorities will be given greater control over how roads appear on satnav systems according to the Deprtment of Transport Minister Norman Baker. The current system in use since the 1960's has too much national control and has been blamed for sending large vehicles onto narrow and unsuitable roads.
1 February 2011
Cinderford Library saved
Gloucestershire County Council have announced changes to plans for Libraries with a further investment of £500,000. This will enable Cinderford library to remain open and offer additional support to the community to run Mitcheldean library.
28 January 2011
Forest will not be offered for sale.
Intervention by Mark Harper MP have secured valuable protection for the Forest of Dean. Proposals from DEFRA to modernise the public forest estate in England include protection for the Forest of Dean to ensure all the benefits currently enjoyed will continue. DEFRA are consulting on ideas to move management of the Forest of Dean into a local community trust with the Forrestry Commission focusing on regulation of forests rather than running them. The benefits for the community could include more influence over the forest and how it develops. The consultation runs until April.
21 January 2011
Forest of Dean to get super fast Broadband
A major investment by BDUK will bring super fast broadband to around 80% of the Forest of Dean premises. Selected jointly with Hereford the £10m project will explore ways to reach rural areas. To support the project Gloucestershire County Council have invested £300,000 to manage the project whoch will be run by Gloucestershire First.
26 November 2010
26 new nursery places in Mitcheldean
Following investment by the County Council a new nursery unit for pre school childre has opened in the grounds of Mitcheldean Endowed Primary School.
15 September 2010
District Council is delivering Good Value
The Audit Commission will be giving the Forest of Dean District Council a clean bill of health next week when it reports to the Audit Committee. The papers just released for the meeting confirm that the council financial statemet is as follows
- Unqualified audit opinion = YES
- Financial statements free from material error = YES
- Adequate internal control environment = YES
- Adequate arrangements to secure value for money = YES
The result demonstrates the work done over the past three years to improve governance at the council.
12 September 2010
Budget Consultation undeway at District and County Council
Both the County Council and District Council have launched budget consultations to seek views from the community on ways to make savings next year. The Government spending review due to be announced on the 20th October is likely to reduce the funding for council in future years.
To take part visit Forest of Dean Budget Survey and meeting the challenge
or visit the council main website at www.fdean.gov.uk or www.gloucestershire.gov.uk
20 August 2010
Toilets refurbished by District Council
Reburbished toilets were opened in Coleford and Lydbrook in July providing upgraded facilities and acess for disabled persons.
6 August 2010
Tourists get new Car Park on banks of River Wye at Redbrook
The district council has completed a new car park to provide parking for tourists and local people visitng Redbrook.
25 July 2010
Major boost for Broadband in the Forst of Dean
£180,000 of new funding from the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) has been secured to help improve broadband coverage in the Forest of Dean. The money will be managed by Gloucestershire First working with BT to improve some of the weakest broadband links. Brian Robinson Board Memebr of (SWRDA) commented "While this funding is welcome it is important that the Forest gets faster broadband sppeds in the near future. I have been working with government, local business and councils to champion the need for fast broadband to help business and individuals to prosper."
15 July 2010
More Foresters are overweight
Viewing the latest health profiles for each district in Gloucestershire shows the Forest of Dean with one red indicator where it preforms significantly worse than the UK average. This is for the catergory of obese adults. A position shared with Tewksbury, Gloucester but not Stround or Cotwold. In contrast Cheltenham and Gloucesters both get a mention for alcohol related hospital admissions while Cotswold is highlighted for more road injuries.
On the positive side the Forest of Dean has fewer than average, hip fractures, less violent crime, fewer teenage pregnancies and more active young people.
28th May 2010
Mark Harper gets minister position in new government
Mark harper has been appointed parlimentary secretary in Cabinet office.
21st May
Brian Robinson appointed Cabinet Champion
Brian Robinson has been appinted Cabinet Champion for (Value for Money) at Gloucestershire County Council. The move follows the election of Mark Hawthorn as the new Leader of the Council on the 20th May.
7th May 2010
Mark Harper wins Forest of Dean seat
Early today Mark Harper secured his seat as local MP with a substantially increased majority
3rd April 2010
Road repairs at full steam.
Following the extensive frost damage to roads in Janaury the County Council has been working flat out to get pot holes filled and large damage repaired. In a normal winter 33 road gangs would be out working but this year over 70 have been deployed during Ferbruary and March. The priority is to get the largest holes filled and in some cases large patch work or resurfacing has been needed. The cost is likely to be in the region of £5m across Gloucestershire. The government has announced an extra £1.6m of funding but that still leaves £3.4m to be covered by the County Council.
16th March 2010
Labour Government pulls the plug on education in Cinderford.
The decision by the Government not to support Gloucestershire County Council's building schools bid has put a major regeneration project at risk. Hopes were high that funding could help provide new education facilities in Cinderford as part of the Northern quarter development. With up to £80m of funding It could have helped secure the future for the Royal Forest of Dean College. The college achieved 100% pass rates at GCE A level in 2009, Dene Magna School and Heywood Scool Cinderford are all currently looking at major plans for change to meet the future education of the Forest of Dean children. Their task is now much harder.
8th March 2010
CAB to receive £10,000 extra funding
The Forest of Dean District Council have gicen the CAB an additional £10,000 in support in recognition of the additional work they are undertaking to help people during the economic downturn. The CAB provide advice on many topics such as debt management.
4th March 2010
Council tax lower than inflation for third consecutive year.
The Forest of Dean District Council ruling conservative group budget was approved at the February 2010 Full Council meeting. The increase in council tax at 2.3% is less than inflation currently 3.6% and the increase on basic state pension. Brian Robinson Cabinet member for Efficient Council Finance commented, "We set out to make council tax less of a burden for everyone in the community and so far we have been able to make a small step every year.
25 February 2010
Mitchedean Play Group to get new premises
After many years making do in the community centre, Mitcheldean Playgroup will soon be moving to new premises being built by the County Council on the site of Mitcheldean Primary School. The funding forms part of Gloucestershire's school building programme that sees 28% of all funding for Gloucestershire being spent in the Forest of Dean
15 February 2010
Pot Holes
Pot hole repairs are top priority for the County Council. After the coldest winter for many years, as the roads thaw, thousands of deep pot holes are sprouting up in every road across Gloucestershire. The Council has increased staff to deal with the matter and has a plan to repair them. The largest and deepest will be repaired first. Where there is greater damage patch repair over a larger area will be used.
Stenders Road Closed 18th - 20th February between Mitcheldean and Drybrook for resurfacing work.
5th December 2009
Highways Winter update
Steady progress since 2006 has seen a substantial improvement in Gloucestershire County road network. Lastest surveys reveal that only 3% are now in need or repair. Although the condition of other roads has also improved there is still work to do. 9% of B and C roads need repair and 18% of minor roads. To address this the Conservative adminstration is putting an extra £10m into minor road repairs.
Changes in the type of repair will also speed up progress. Only 25% of repairs will receive 24 hour pot hole filling with the remainder scheduled for 28 day hot repair which allows the repair team to complete up to five times as many repairs per day and with hot materials the repair will be longer lasting.
More salt has been stockpiled for the winter and roadside salt boxes filled. During freezing conditions 1000 miles of county roads are pre-salted. This includes all A and B roads and other primary routes leading to hospitals. For further information on highways winter maintenance visit http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/winter or telephone 08000 514 514.
Parish Councils have snow wardens who can help clear minor roads in extreme conditions.
14th October 2009
Forest trails repaired
After 12 months of extensive timber extraction in woodland around Jubilee Road Mitcheldean I am please to say that repairs to damaged forest paths have been completed and walkers can now explore the area again. During the work carried out in wet conditions many of the paths became impossible to use. Brian Robinson raised the matter with the Forestry Commission who took action to repair the paths in September and October.
16th September 2009
Eductaion success.
Pupils at Dene Magna School Mitcheldean produced excellent GCSE results with 81% of pupils securing 5 A-C grades.
Students at the Royal Forest of Dean College also produced an exceptional 100% pass rate for GCSE Advanced level examinations.
14th September 2009
Peter Amos has been elected leader of the Council following the resignation of Marrian Winship
24th August 2009
Brooksdean youth want to tackle crime first. A poll carried out with young people in Brooksdean shows tackling crime as their most important prioity. This was followed by lower council tax, more youth and leasure facilities and better recycling.
The poll carried out in July 2009 looked at number or areas for improving the quality of life in the Forest of Dean. The identified several imprtant areas for action including
more jobs in the Forest of Dean
action to reduce anti social behavious
lower house prices
action to reduce road congestion
more sporting facilities and events
To improve entertainment in the community they suggested, night clus, sports clubs, restuarants and shopping facilities.
23rd August 2009
Brian Robinson is appointed to the Commons and Rights of Way Committee at Gloucestershire County Council. The committee that meets to consider access to the Countryside which is governed by the CROW Act but separate considerations apply for much of the Forest of Dean. Information about land access
21st August 2009
Drybrook Car Park resurfacing in progress. The District Council is spending £11,000 to improve Drybrook car park.
4th JUly 2009
Conservative Future Skittles Match - read report Events
27th June 2009
Rifles gain Freedom of the Fores
The Rifles Regiment based at Beachly were granted the Freedom of the Forest by the Forest of Dean District Council on 26 June 2009. Recently returning from action in Afganistan they marched through Coleford on 27th June and then enjoyed celebrations with local residents.
15th June
The Forest of Dean District Council makes steady progress in 2008/9.
The Performance Report for the whole of 2008/9 has just been reported to Cabinet and shows the council has made steady progress. 85% of Corporate plans have been complted compared to 72% in the previous year. 70% of key actions were completed compared to 67% the previous year. Full details of the report can be seen at http://meetings.fdean.gov.uk/Published/C00000115/M00000203/AI00001025/$OD79EndofYearPerformanceReport110609.docA.ps.pdf
5th June
Fire at Hale & Co Drybrook
A major fire damaged the plumbng centre at Hale & Co on Friday. Councillor Brian Robinson visited the site of the blaze and was pleased to hear that there was no risk of injury to customers, staff or nearby residents. The damage was extensive but staff were able to confirm that orders had already been placed for replacement stock so that local traders and DIY enthusiasts will be still be able to get supplies. For further details visit http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/gloucestershireheadlines/Blaze-builders-yard/article-1055881-detail/article.html
Brian Robinson wins County Council election for Brooksdean Division
Forest of Dean Conservatives put in an impressive perfromance to win 8 of the 9 Forest of Dean County Council seats in Thursdays election. In Brooksdean 39% of the elecorate turned out to vote in Brian Robinson with 1172 votes (40.6%) followed by Sue Henchley with 921 (32%) with bruce hogan trailing with just 788 votes (27%). Across the Forest of Dean 25,000 voted, 39% of people registers to vote.
1st June 2009
Air Ambulance in rescue at Jubilee Road
Following a vehicle battery explosion a man was airlifted to hospital by air ambulance from John Marfell's business stuated at the end of Jubilee Road Mitcheldean.
30th May 2009
Council help in fire evacuation emergency
The Forest of Dean Council and emergency services were called in on Friday 29th May to help care for residents from a care home that was evauated following a fire. The fire at Chaxhill Petrol Station broke out early in the morning and firefighters identified a risk of further explotion at the scene. Residents were allowed to return hiome the following day.
Reasons to vote conservative on the 4th June 2009
Lowest Council Tax increase in England over the last 4 years.
£50 million boost for elderly care across Gloucestershire.
Rycycling has nearly doubled over the last 4 years.
Increased investment in repairing our roads with an extra £10 to come.
We have worked hard to keep schools open and will invest an extra £1.75 million in youth facilities.
Conservative priorities on the 4th June
Ensuring Value for Money and Keeping Council Tax Down.
Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour by working with the police and residents.
Providing and extra £10 million to improve our local roads.
Boosting recycling to 70% by 2020
Promoting a prosperous community.
George Read MBE
It is with deap regret that we hear that George Read died on 9th May 2009. He has served his Parish, Distirct Council and the Country well during his distinguished life.
The funeral will take place at 2.00pm on Wednesday 27th May at the parish church of St Michael and All Angels, Mitcheldean.
County’s roads on track despite worst weather for years
First they had to absorb the worst floods for sixty years, followed by the coldest snap in two decades. Yet despite eighteen months of the most severe weather on record, Gloucestershire’s roads are getting better. The Government has just completed a review of all of the county’s main A, B and unclassified roads and found a marked improvement across the board.This latest assessment comes hard on the heels of an earlier inspection by the Government of the South West, which concluded that the county’s main roads, which were previously regarded as among the worst in the country, are now classified as “good” and well up to the Government’s required standard.
Cllr Stan Waddington, Gloucestershire County Council cabinet member for environment said, “This is another testament to the work we have done and the improvements that have come through considerable investment in our principal road network.
“The results are even better than we expected and are thanks in the main to the continued £4m extra funding that the county council has been putting into structural maintenance each year over the last four years, on top of the £16.5m of DfT funding for flood damage repair work.“Four years ago we were in the bottom group of local authorities in the national league table for roads. Now, due mostly to the additional money which the county council has invested, we have managed to get the standard of our A and B roads up to where the Government wants them to be. “Even so, whilst we can be proud of the progress we have made, we are aware that many areas still show the effects of some of the worst weather on record and our priority now is to restore them as quickly as possible”. The county council’s own audit showed that last week Gloucestershire Highways repaired 1,330 potholes and other highways defects. They also responded to 68 emergencies, completing 126 emergency repairs within 24 hours of them being reported.