COLEFORD is hoping to become the Forest's capital of culture.

The town council has applied for a £100,000 grant to fund a series of festivals and events.

And they are hoping lessons learned from staging them will help other towns in the Forest develop their own cultural identity.

Those behind the move say it is wrong that Foresters have to travel to Cheltenham, Bath, Hay-on-Wye or the big cities to sample the arts.

They want people to have access to music, drama and literature on their doorsteps and believe Coleford is the natural choice to develop such activities across the Dean.

The grant would boost existing events such as the Family Dun Day, the Festival of Transport and the Festival of Words to grow.

But a cash injection from the Forest of Dean Local Action Group, which is distributing a £2.6 million grant from Europe, would also allow organisers to stage new events in Coleford.

The bid comes as Coleford also prepares for a business boom with Tesco, the Factory Shop and JD Wetherspoon all being linked to the town.

Coleford town clerk Annie Lappington said the town council had put forward "an expression of interest" in setting up a community interest company to promote culture..

"We have applied for £100,000 to establish Coleford as the cultural capital of the Forest," she said. "The town has always held the majority of festivals in the Forest and we hope to use our experience to help others.

"I think people are quite interested in the idea but they have asked us for more information about how it would work."

The grant application comes as organisers move both the festival of words and the family fun day to early July to avoid being on the same weekend as Edinburgh and Monmouth festivals.

Vicki Thornton and Amanda Smith from Switched on, and Roger Drury from the Coleford Festival of Words are backing the bid

Mr Drury said: "Over the years Coleford has held many cultural events but we have never invested in those skills.

"People should not have to travel to Bath, Bristol or Hay-on-Wye, they should have access to events right on their doorstep."