A BID to win the status of 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' for the Forest of Dean is underway.
Just four days after the launch of a new pressure group, 'Friends of the Forest' at the Speech House, organisers met local MP Diana Organ and launched a petition urging The Countryside Agency to work towards AONB designation as soon as possible.
"It is the very minimum protection we need and we need it immediately," said Mary Newton, planning officer for Forest of Dean Friends of the Earth.
She said the 'Friends of the Forest' group had emerged from the frustration at the continuing failure of The Countryside Agency to agree to a special status for the Forest.
"This has been rumbling on since 1996 without any significant progress. It is now time to introduce an AONB status as the basic minimum requirement for the area. It is not about stifling development but introducing sustainable development in the right places," she said.
It is hoped thousands of people will sign the petition.
Drybrook district council Colin Smith has been elected chairman of the new pressure group.
He said that time and again the Forest had been passed over for national protection of its outstanding landscapes.
"If AONB is not granted on April 10 we are afraid that the door to national protection in planning will be closed forever. We see national AONB status as a starting point, a foundation upon which to build a future for the district in a sustainable way by recognising that its individuality and unique beauty is a strength on which the district could thrive and prosper thus ensuring a good quality of life for future generations," he said.
The Friends already have the support of Council for the Protection of Rural England Forest of Dean District and Forest of Dean Friends of the Earth.
"We need to look at the St Briavels Hundred as the starting point for AONB status which encompasses the Statutory Forest and then consider protecting the spectacular views seen from the escarpments for which the Dean is famous," said Anne Prufer, chairman of CPRE Forest of Dean District.
Mary Newton added: "The Government is as concerned about the social and economic needs of AONB areas as it is in any other part of the country but the emphasis is on ensuring beautiful areas are not swamped by large scale inappropriate development."
'Friends of the Forest' will hold their first meeting at Coleford Library this Thursday at which anyone wishing to join will be welcome (7.30pm).