THERE was more good news for Cinderford this week as the county council announced backing for the £11m Steam Mills spine road project. At the same time the town's council chairman Graham Morgan launched a stinging attack on those who have fought to defeat the plans.

They were, he said, mistaken and misguided.

Cllr Morgan said: "The total project to develop what is called the Northern Quarter is a major opportunity to develop the last brownfield site in the town. It amounts to a new road, a few houses and the college on seven hectares of brownfield land - land which is little more than slag heaps and certainly not beautiful.

"The Forest as a whole wins here. In exchange for the seven hectares of what is virtually waste land the Forestry Commission gains the Linear Park alongside Valley Road as well as Church Bank. That's an overall gain of 23 hectares.

" Some people would have you believe that the site is a picturesque paradise. It's not. It was opencast up until 1968 and when I was a boy there were around seven little pits there. It's nothing much more than mudstone."

Cllr Morgan said that all those involved had been keenly aware of the wildlife issues and special precautions had been taken to protect species such as bats.

"People should remember that this is the last major development we can carry out in Cinderford because no further land will be available. When this is done everything will switch to Lydney," he said.

Meanwhile, he said, the town was bucking the national trend and plenty was going on.

Building work was continuing at Forest Vale and it was almost a certainty there would be a new supermarket.

He said: "The secret of success at Forest Vale was to build the infrastructure and let companies design buildings to suit their own requirements. Had we put up shells I'm convinced many would still be empty."

The spine road project is to be split into three phases. The first will be the Broadmoor road to the proposed college site; the second the A4136 to the Northern United site and the third, the middle section of the road linking phases one and two.

County cabinet member Chas Fellows has described the project as "great news for the Forest of Dean."

He said the county council would project manage the scheme which is due to begin in mid 2013.