MEMBERS of the board of The Countryside Agency will vote on whether or not to grant Area of Outstanding Natural Beau-ty status to the Forest of Dean this Thursday.
They will meet at their headquarters in Cheltenham and receive a petition signed by over 5,000 people collected in just five weeks by the recently formed pressure group Friends of the Forest.
The Friends say the petition confirms local people want to see the Forest protected by an AONB designation and are frustrated by the endless delays in the promise of greater protection.
"Frank Dobson promised greater planning protection for the Forest of Dean, yet six years on and £1 million later we are no further forward," said Friends chairman Colin Smith.
"The Landscape Character Assessment describes the unique qualities of the Forest of Dean but it is useless unlesss it is strongly backed by a strong statutory designation," he added.
Mr Smith said he believed AONB status would achieve a foundation on which the district could thrive and prosper ensuring a good quality of life for present and future generations.