A LEADING councillor says it is imperative for the Forest of Dean to have a bridge connecting them with Sharpness instead of being constantly boxed in by traffic on the A48.

The authority’s vice chairman James Bevan also says the council have not gone far enough in a modernisation project application of Lydney Harbour that was passed at their meeting last week.

It is almost 60 years since the old Severn Railway Bridge connecting Lydney to the other side of the river collapsed after a barge crashed into it and several schemes have been talked about since but nothing concrete has been done about it.

But earlier this year, as part of the ambitious plans set out in the Gloucestershire 2050 project, the third link across the Severn to connect both banks of the county has come up again.

And Lydney East Independent Cllr Bevan believes a new bridge – a road one would be preferable although a hybrid of car and rail may also work – is vital to give the area better access to the outside world.

He said: “I think it will happen. With the billions of pounds we have paid into Europe over the years, we should be having that conversation about this."

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S FORESTER