THE Forest Council looks set to maintain its opposition to fracking in the district unless strong safeguards are in place to protect the area’s unique landscape and heritage.

A ‘position statement’ will go before the council in December setting out where the authority stands but a draft has been published as part of its submission to Gloucestershire County Council on quarrying in the district.

The submission, which is due to be discussed by the council’s Cabinet tomorrow (Thursday) also includes the authority’s views on rock extraction at Clearwell, Stowfield and Drybrook.

The council is looking to influence the county Minerals Local Plan (MLP) which will guide the provision of minerals in Gloucestershire until 2032.

If adopted by the district council, it will look for safeguards in five areas: protection of the Forest’s ‘unique’ landscape, an understanding of the geology and hydrology of the Forest with protection for water resources, that stability of mining operations was guaranteed and its heritage unaffected, that there was no potential for an increase in radon gas and local ecology would not be affected “to a level of no reasonable doubt.”

The submission concluded: “In the absence of the above measures being satisfactorily addressed, the Forest of Dean District Council would oppose fracking operations within or potentially affecting the district.”

The council has previously passed a motion opposing fracking and plans by a South Wales company to make test drills in the Forest have been abandoned.

The report to Cabinet concludes the MLP, which supports expansion of the three Forest quarries should be “generally welcomed’ subject to some concerns.

The Cabinet is asked to support further quarrying at Clearwell and at the mothballed Drybrook quarry “subject to detailed development requirements being addressed”.

While a similar condition is suggested for Stowfield, the council would expect to see a specific requirement addressing the impact on the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and of traffic using the site.

The issues of both quarry expansion and fracking have been very controversial.

In a letter in this week’s Review, Newland Parish Council has urged people living in Clearwell and those living on routes that will be used by lorries to respond to the consultation on the minerals plan by the deadline date of Thursday, November 24.