At the conclusion of the fractious meeting of the Forest of Dean District Council last Thursday evening, Cllr Patrick Molyneux  (Conservative Hewelsfield and Woolaston) approached me and said, "Fancy the Labour Group voting against a motion to protect the Forest of Dean."

For those members of the public who were there to witness the debacle, there is no need for me to explain why I and my group voted against the motion as amended by Council Leader Peter Amos (Conservative Awre).

Cllr Amos was allowed by the chairman Cllr Marion Smart (Conservative Christchurch and English Bicknor) to hijack the meeting by moving an amendment and speaking to it before producing the text of the amendment. When the text did appear, it so diluted the original intention of Cllr. Marion Winship's motion as to render it meaningless.

 The opening sentence of Cllr Amos' amendment is: "This council is opposed to any selling off of forestry land that would compromise the protection of our most valuable and bio diverse forest and lead to greater commercial exploitation and possibly reduced access."

 It doesn't take a constitutional lawyer to see that any protection would be afforded only to, "our most valuable and bio diverse forest", and then only if it would lead to, "greater commercial exploitation and possibly reduced access."

I wonder how many of your readers might enjoy the amenities of forest that could be judged less valuable and bio diverse, which according to the wording of Cllr. Amos' amendment would not be protected and could be open to greater commercial exploitation and reduced access?

The Labour Group could not support such a cynical fudge of an amendment. Our position is clear. We consider our publicly owned forests, and particularly the Forest of Dean, to be precious national assets. We believe they belong to every citizen of the UK. We believe that the Government should hold them in trust for the nation and that the proven system of management by the Forestry Commission should continue.

– Cllr. Bruce Hogan, Labour and Co-operative Lydbrook and Ruardean, Labour Group Leader FODDC.