It's been a long and winding road. A decade ago the Review stood amid the remains of the Northern United colliery with the Forest district council's regeneration officer.
The site, perhaps the Dean's scruffiest, was among half a dozen possibly qualifying for Coalfields regeneration money. Following wholesale coal mine closures in the 1980s and 90s, the Labour government was providing cash to try and help devastated pit communities – mostly northern.
The Dean's deep mines closed 20 or 30 years earlier, job losses being fortuitously offset by Rank Xerox's large expansion. District and town councillors having fought for belated recompense, the Dean was accepted as qualifying.
Six likely candidates for funding were identified, including the former Princess Royal pithead between Bream and Whitecroft, Parkend's former railway sidings, the former Cannop colliery, and Cinderford's "North End". Forest of Dean District Council drew up plans which, at Cannop, included a hotel.
.jpeg?width=209&height=140&crop=209:145,smart&quality=75)
Seven years ago the Review stood with Jonathan Wright, freeminer, Clearwell Caves manager and, together with his father Ray Wright and others, a member of Dean Forest Voice. Cannop and other "brownfield" sites should not be redeveloped, Jon declared.
Being within the Statutory Forest, sites used for industrial purposes had to be restored to forestry when the industry ended, he suggested. He turned out to be right.
The Forestry Commission and everyone else thereafter recognised that if such land was going to be redeveloped, compensatory land had to be acquired and suitably prepared elsewhere within the Forest bounds.
At Cinderford, the Forest of Dean District Council's district-wide Local Plan included the "Northern Arc" scheme for the territory between Northern United and Steam Mills. The inspector at the public enquiry into this and other schemes also ruled that due care had to be taken of land with possible nature conservation value.
Much of the area around Steam Mills lake, itself the result of clay extraction, had been excavated for open cast coal mining. Yet the boggy terrain had its own soggy virtues.
There was also by now widespread confusion about Coalfields money. There might be gold at the end of the rainbow, but where was the rainbow's end?
*** ***
Puzzlement was increased by the number of government agencies involved. The FoDDC website introductory page for Cinderford Regeneration records that: "The Forest of Dean District Council is leading on the regeneration of Cinderford and is working in partnership with Gloucestershire County Council, the Forestry Commission, the South West Regional Development Agency and the Homes and Communities Agency.
"This partnership approach has enabled the formation of the Cinderford Regeneration Board, the Cinderford Consultative Forum, the appointment of a Cinderford Regeneration Manager and the completion of a Business Plan and Community Learning Plan for the town."
Some additional clarity was introduced at the end of last year by the creation of the above-mentioned Homes & Communities Agency.
"The HCA was formed on 1 December 2008 through the transfer of the functions and assets of English Partnerships; the investment functions of the Housing Corporation; a number of delivery programmes from [the government department of] Communities and Local Government and the transfer of the Academy for Sustainable Communities," it explains of itself.
"The HCA is the national housing and regeneration agency for England, with an annual investment budget of more than £5bn. The objects of the HCA are to improve the supply and quality of housing in England, secure the regeneration or development of land or infrastructure in England, and support the creation, regeneration or development of communities in England or their continued well-being."
In March this year it was able to deliver good news. It confirmed it had received Government approval to proceed with an investment of £14.75 million, from the National Coalfield Programme, to assist in the regeneration of Cinderford.
Bad news for the rest of Cinderford was that cash was being slashed from SWRDA's £3m budget for town centre improvements, although council funding is still available here for around £1.3m projects including new street sineage and a new 20mph zone. Coalfields money could not be used to make up for the axed grant as the town centre is not a coalfields site.
The Forest of Dean District Council team headed by regeneration officer Wendy Jackson and Forward Plans Manager Nigel Gibbons worked with consultants to produce draft plans for what was now being dubbed Cinderford Northern Quarter. The forward planning coincides with preparations, here as elsewhere, for plans to replace previous Local Plans under a new RSS [Regional Spatial Strategies] framework.
*** ***
"Forest of Dean District Council has appointed a project team to draw up a Masterplan for Cinderford Northern Quarter," Wendy Jackson explains. "The Masterplan is being developed in parallel with an Area Action Plan [AAP], a new planning document which will control development in the area.
"The AAP, once adopted, will replace the specific guidance about the Northern Quarter which is outlined in the Local Plan. The AAP is being prepared in conformity with the FoDDC Core Strategy which is currently under preparation by the Council."
The Plan of what was most supported during consultation early this summer is as seen on this page. The biggest change from the Northern Arc plan is the proposed new road.
Previously it was proposed to continue the Forest Vale Road truncated spur to link with the road off the A4136 to Northern United as a western bypass. The centre of gravity of the new "quarter" has shifted east of Steam Mills Lake more towards New Town.
"The proposals recognise that the lake and the forest are key assets and development is limited to areas between the forest edges on former brownfield land," Wendy Jackson explains.
A central road from half way down Broadmoor Road is now proposed to link with the A4136 running though Hawkwell Wood. "A new north-south spine road will serve Cinderford and unlock the development potential of the site," says Wendy.
"This will be accompanied by a new east-west link between Northern United and Steam Mills. The proposals will reduce the amount of traffic on Steam Mills Road."
The scheme as a whole is much more mixed than previously. "The new community will be built around a mixed-use centre and employment space including new offices, a hotel, an education centre and an eco-visitor centre."
Although housing isn't mentioned Wendy is at pains to stress up to 170 new homes will be created. The earlier consultation Option 2 (which emerged as 'most preferred') put the campus at the centre and gave this summary:
1. College/activity centre creates a central landmark for a place to live and work set in natural landscape.
2. New employment uses will be located along the spine road.
3. High quality green business uses in lake and landscape setting.
4. Steam Mills and New Town consolidated with sustainable housing, closely linked to the forest, lake, college/activity centre and business uses.
5. Hotel located by the lake.
6. Character of the Northern United site retained and regenerated through
sympathetic employment uses.
"Feedback from the options consultation process in May 2009 has played a key role in shaping the preferred approach," says Wendy. "Environmental considerations have been fully integrated in the process and a Sustainability Appraisal has been prepared alongside the Masterplan and Area Action Plan. Watercourses and floodplain will form green fingers in the development."
*** ***
A further stage of consultation is launched shortly.
"The District Council will be consulting on the Area Action Plan preferred options document and Sustainability Appraisal from Monday, October 12 to Friday, November 20," Wendy elaborates.
"There are several ways of commenting on the proposals and finding out more. Youcan fill in the short questionnaire on this page and send it back to Forest of Dean District Council using the freepost label.
"From 12th October, visit the FoDDC http://www.fdean.gov.uk">www.fdean.gov.uk website and go to the planning pages to view the full on-line version of the AAP preferred options document and the Sustainability Appraisal. You can comment on the document and respond to more detailed questions on-line. A number of other background documents are also available for download on the website.
"Also from October 12 you can visit the Co-op foyer to view an exhibition showing the proposals. Later, this will move to the Belle Vue Centre. Copies of the AAP preferred options document and Sustainability Appraisal document will be available to view at all local libraries, the mobile library, Forest of Dean District Council main reception, Cinderford Town Council and all surrounding town and parish councils.
"Following completion of the preferred options consultation, comments and feedback will be reviewed to inform the preparation of a final version of the Masterplan, Area Action Plan and Sustainability Appraisal. Following a period for written representations, the AAP and register of representations will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for Examination. The AAP will then be adopted as part of the FoDDC Local Development Framework.
"The scheme will be developed in more detail with a view to submitting an outline planning application. There will be further opportunities for people to provide feedback on the scheme through the planning process."