THE leader of the Forest Council says he's confident a High Court judge will approve the Asda Cinderford planning application at a judicial review this week.

Cllr Patrick Molyneux (Con, Hewelsfield and Woolaston) said he thinks the council has a strong case and have worked hard to "satisfy" previous reviews and applications which the judge will hopefully merit.

The two-day review in London will establish if there were any errors in the decision-making process when the original application was sent back to council in January for reconsideration.

Midcounties Co-op has since made another application to the High Court for a further judicial review after the council granted permission to 'duplicate' proposals back in May. The proposals intended to address the issues on which the Co-op had mounted its challenge.

Cllr Molyneux said: "If the judge merits our case then this should mean it will be all over and the third application, which is currently 'live', shouldn't be affected. There is a public demand for a new store in Cinderford and we will fight for this to happen."

Lead campaigner of the We Want Asda in Cinderford, Amanda Watkins added: "We remain optimistic."

The Midcounties Co-op has robustly challenged the council's decision for the retail store at Steam Mills claiming the plans are "unsound and go against regulations."

In March it successfully requested a judicial review against the council's decision to grant planning, which as a result landed the council with a £125,000 legal bill.

It is unknown when the verdict will be handed down and how it will affect the current application.