COUNCILLORS from both sides of the England-Wales divide have taken the first steps towards a major project to prevent future traffic chaos that would almost certainly affect the Forest of Dean dramatically.

Members from Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire County Councils met at the Forest of Dean district authority’s headquarters in Coleford on Monday to start the ball rolling on a by-pass project around Chepstow.

And a leading Forest of Dean member of Gloucestershire County Council has called on local MP Mr Mark Harper to ‘champion’ the project through Central Government.

Projections show that around 3,200 new homes could be built in Chepstow, Severnside and towards Lydney in coming years, which may see something like eight to ten thousand more residents living in the areas.

And if this is the case for Chepstow and the Forest of Dean, it will mean the already saturated arteries from the border to the M48 next to the old Severn Bridge would see an even higher volume of traffic clogging up the single carriageway A48 from Lydney, Tidenham and Sedbury towards the High Beech roundabout.

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S FORESTER