FAMILIES got busy with paintbrushes to show their opposition to exploration for gas in the Forest.

The artwork was created by artist Christine Waygood with families adding their individual drawings at an tea party at Blakeney Village Hall organised by Annie McKie and Frack Off Our Forest (FOOF).

Former BBC Radio 4 newsreader Annie said: “We were bringing all generations of the village together over tea and cake to discuss fracking and what it could mean for our community.”

There will be a demonstration from 9.15am at Shire Hall in Gloucester on Wednesday February 17 before a council meeting where coalbed methane exploration and fracking is due to be discussed.

The Forest of Dean has been licensed for coalbed methane exploration. The licence-holder, South Western Energy of Bridgend, has made a “firm commitment” to drill at least one test well for gas.

Frack Off Our Forest (FOOF) is also teaming up with the Toxin-Free Network to start the ball rolling for neighbourhood surveys into fracking to find out the majority opinion in various villages.

“We are hoping we will be able to use local democracy as our trump card,” said a spokesperson from the grassroots community campaign.

Campaigners have tabled a series of questions for the county council on February 18.

A preamble to FOOF’s questions states: “As Council is aware, there is considerable and growing anxiety amongst Council Tax payers about the granting of PEDLs (Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences) in Gloucestershire.

“Evidence from areas in the US, Canada and Australia, where exploratory and development activities are already underway, confirm that water contamination (Pilliga Forest, New South Wales), ground movements (Alberta, Canada) and methane leakage, (Porter Ranch, California), have all been observed and linked to unconventional gas exploration or extraction.”

FOOF says it is looking for ‘assurances’ the county council will:

• ensure that it remains in control of key decisions that have an impact on the local environment, communities and economy.

• demand that the Oil and Gas Authority revokes or suspend existing licences and the government orders a comprehensive, independent risk assessment.

• confirm that this risk assessment will take into account local conditions, knowledge and evidence of the impact of existing unconventional gas exploration sites globally.

• confirm that, to ensure impartiality, the risk assessment will be conducted by experts who are free of influence from government or the oil and gas industry.

The tea party is one of a list of events being organised throughout the Forest of Dean with information events at at Mitcheldean Community Centre tonight (Wednesday, February 10), Flaxley Schoolroom on Saturday, February 20 and Newnham Armoury Hall on Saturday, March 12. They all start at 7.30pm.

There is also a ‘rock against fracking’ event from 3pm on Saturday, March 26 at Magnums nightclub in Coleford.