AN EFFORT to reach compromise over the bid to get Biosphere status for the Forest was rebuffed by councillors.

The full council accepted a motion that “pauses” the application for six months to allow more consultation despite warnings it would effectively kill off the bid.

The Green administration put forward an amendment to the motion that would have cut the extension to four months.

The amendment was defeated on the casting vote of the Chair, Cllr Di Martin and the main motion later passed by 19 votes to 17.

The application for Biosphere designation has to be with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) by the end of September.

Introducing the amendment, Cabinet member for Climate Emergency Cllr Chris McFarling said he rejected the notion that the council had not consulted local people.

He said: “In March last year, this council unanimously supported the application for the Forest of Dean to be designated as a Biosphere, the only international status in the world that exists specifically to recognise the landscapes where people live and work together sustainably.

“It was a statement of confidence in our people, our economy, our environment, and the unique way they work together. That vision has not changed.”

The main motion was put by Cllr Bernie O’Neill (Progressive Independents, Ruspidge) who said he had asked for assurances that the status would not have a negative impact on traditional rights of commoning, free mining, or public access.

He said: “This is one of the most significant decisions affecting the future of the Forest of Dean and it is being rushed through without doing the groundwork properly.

“I supported the principle of exploring a biosphere, 14 months ago as did every member in this chamber.

“But supporting a principle does not mean signing a blank cheque for a flawed process.

“What we have seen since that unanimous vote is not careful engagement, it is a push to get this over the line.

“There's been lack of engagement.

“The concerns raised by Commoners, Verderers, and parish councils are real, and they have been dismissed instead of addressed.

“We now have a situation where misinformation has filled the vacuum left by poor communication.

“If you do not explain something clearly, if you do not consult early, if you do not bring people with you, then you should not be surprised when trust breaks down.

“This motion is not wrecking, not obstruction, not opposition for the sake of it. “It simply says, pause for six months, consult properly, explain clearly what this actually means in practice.

“If this proposal is as good as some claim, then it should stand up to scrutiny.”

The motion stated the council should not proceed with a Biosphere bid without the express support of the Commoners and the support of at least two thirds of parish councils.

“If that level of support is not achieved, this council would take no further part in the Biosphere Reserve process.”

Cllr McFarling responded: “The reality is there’s been comprehensive engagement.

“Leaflets were delivered to every household in the district. Public consultation events were held across multiple locations. Online engagement was available throughout.

“The Biosphere team has attended parish council meetings, community group meetings, and stakeholder sessions over sustained period of time.

“This debate is not just about process. It is about opportunity, and what we do with it.

“A biosphere is not a restriction. It does not take away rights or impose new powers. It recognises places that already work and helps them thrive.

“That brings real benefits. It strengthens our ability to attract investment and funding.

“It supports local jobs and businesses.

“It raises the profile of the Forest of brings recognition that opens doors nationally and internationally.

“Do we want young people growing up here to see a place full of opportunity, pride, and purpose, or place that hesitated and missed its moment?

“Local government reorganisation is coming. The Forest of Dean District, as we know, will change.

“Identity may well be diluted. Decisions may well move further away.

“So we have to ask ourselves, what do we leave behind before that happens?

“Do we leave nothing distinctive, nothing lasting, or do we leave a legacy that says, clearly, this place matters?

“A biosphere gives us that legacy, but only if we act.

“This amendment strikes the right balance. It commits to further consultation over the next four months, actively and inclusively, and it ensures that before any submission is made, this council will give its approval.

“Six months would take us past the submission date for this year which would mean that we would lose the opportunity and control to put in an application.

“If we lose that ability to put this submission in this year, I think we lose the whole initiative.

He said commoning and freemining were enshrined in Acts of Parliament.

“These have supremacy in UK law

and a biosphere designation simply does not have any statutory authority to challenge it.

“This does not impose any restrictions, this does not produce access, this does not change the rights in any way or form.

Cllr Tim Gwilliam said the people who the council needed to support the Biosphere bid had been alienated by the process.

He said: “While the intent behind this bid may be rooted in environmental stewardship, the execution is currently alienating the very soul of our community.

“It doesn't matter if the Cabinet consider it's been consulted on.

“The very people who matter consider they haven’t been consulted on.

“If these groups, the free miners, the commoners and the public of the Forest of Dean, decide that this biosphere status is not what they want for their Forest, this council cannot proceed with it and it must not proceed with it.

“If we push blindly forward and ignoring the warnings of the people who make the forest what it is, the legacy of this council will be forever tarnished.”

Cllr Trevor Roach (Green, Mitcheldean, Ruardean and Drybrook) said he had worked in a part of northern Italy which had Biosphere status which helped preserve local traditions and its language.

What happened was, the government couldn't run roughshod over the community. and it turned its policy around, and it started to pay the farmers to haymake the Alpine meadows.

“We need everybody to support the biosphere, because you are the people who will be the defenders of the living culture.

“The biosphere has to work with you and for you, to make sure that that living culture grows.”

Before the meeting at the council offices in Coleford, a group of people with placards showed their opposition to the bid process.

Jaz White, junior secretary of the Commoners’ Association, said there has not been enough consultation.

“They’ve not been transparent and they’ve not talked to locals,” she said.

“We weren’t told and we’ve not been informed properly about it and there are lots of people who feel the same.”

And Reform UK Councillor Piers Camp, who represents Drybrook and Lydbrook on Gloucestershire County Council, said there was no support for the bid among the residents and parish councils he has spoken to.

“That’s the main issue – it’s being foisted upon the Forest.”