PLANS to build a day hospice on a greenfield site in the heart of the Forest near Speech House may face insurmountable planning hurdles.
"It is certainly a very sensitive area," said Forest of Dean District Council officer Jim Stewart of the plans for the two-storey building on a paddock adjacent to Dean Hall School.
"It is not a place where development would normally be allowed. The planners will have to put the project to members, and it could be that they decide to make an exception in this case.
"Planning conditions for any development in this particular area would be pretty restrictive."
He said that although the project to provide respite for people with life threatening illnesses was a wonderful cause, planners also faced pressure for other developments in instances where the rules were changed – even in exceptional cases.
The steering committee for the Great Oaks Hospice project announced this week that they were poised to submit an outline planning application for the site.
They also said that the continuing indecision over the future of Dean Hall School by the county education authority could delay their project, and have invited the education officer to a site meeting.
The land in question is part of a paddock on which the school grazes a number of farm animals. It is leased from the Forestry Commission by the Education Committee. Forestry officials have informally indicated that they would support the plan, says the steering committee.
The planned £350,000 building, in traditional materials, will include a treatment room, a quiet room, an art room, a bathroom and support facilities.
So far some £60,000 had been raised for the project with promises of a further £100,000 in cash and kind.
Chairman of the steering committee Mrs Sheila Evans said: "It is a large community project that has captured the imagination of the Forest.
"Local people are very much aware of the need for a hospice. There are few families who have not been touched by cancer and other life-threatening illnesses."