THE FOREST of Dean will have to wait at least five-and-a-half long years before even being considered for relief from the chaotic traffic problems at the south of the region around Chepstow.

After spending over £30,000 on a report about a bypass around Chepstow with Monmouthshire County Council, Gloucestershire County Council have now said they will not be contributing towards the second stage of the study which is estimated to be costing £1 million.

Instead, Gloucestershire County Council will concentrate their major roadworks on junction nine and ten of the M5 motorway

But the decision has outraged one MP across the border while Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper has been copied into a letting about the subject and, despite requests from The Forester, has failed to give his opinion so far.

A letter sent to Monmouth MP David TC Davies from Gloucestershire County Council’s Strategic Advisor Communities and Infrastructure Colin Chick saying that his authority had promoted a Chepstow Bypass to the Western Gateway Sub-national Transport Body, an organisation made up of several English councils in the South West.

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S FORESTER