FOREST Friends of the Earth has called for a rethink on the proposal to spend over £14 million on Cinderford's Northern Quarter Area Action Plan.

Forest FoE coordinator Martin Rudland said: "The consultation period for this project is closing this Friday (June 19), yet it has only just been announced that there will be no extra money to regenerate the centre of Cinderford.

"This is where the money needs to be spent. Everyone supports the need to revitalise Cinderford town centre and the Miners Welfare Hall, so the consultation period needs extending to allow for this news to be taken into consideration.

"The Coalfields money may be the only money coming to the area so we need to rethink where the Coalfields money is spent and make Cinderford town centre the first priority."

Mr Rudland said they are concerned that spending millions of pounds of Coalfields money to stabilise the many pit shafts in the Northern Quarter will only benefit developers and that in the long distant future, whereas spending the money in town could benefit local businesses and residents directly and more immediately.

As the consultation document asks for alternative ideas for the Northern Quarter FoE are putting forward a series of proposals sensitive to this site.

"We are surprised that it has not been made clear in the consultation document on the Northern Quarter site that the Linear Park is a Key Wildlife Site and that the rough grassland is an English Nature Grasslands Inventory Site," said Mr Rudford.

"In the last Local Plan Inspectors Report on this site (pre-inquiry change 17 to policy (R)F.CINDERFORD 17 Steam Mills Lake), when a similar development was put forward as the Northern Arc, the Inspector said, 'My overall conclusion is that PIC17 would result in serious harm to the landscape setting of the town, and to the natural environment and recreational amenity value of the site. This would outweigh the potential economic regeneration bene­fits.'

"This rejected the proposal for Steam Mills Lake. The Inspector also said of Cinderford that there is 'a need for environmental improvements to parts of the urban fabric to improve the town's image and quality of life."