Forest of Dean candidate suggests ‘radical plan’ to annex Ross-on-Wye

A Gloucestershire council candidate is proposing the “radical” plan for the “Forest of Dean annexation of Ross-on-Wye” in a bid to avoid the need to build a new town near Gloucester.

The recent trend among some politicians of talking about annexing their neighbour’s land has surfaced in the run-up to this year’s Gloucestershire County Council elections.

Former Forest of Dean District Councillor Thom Forester is proposing the annexation of nearby Herefordshire market town – which needs to find sites for another 3,000 homes over the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, the Forest District needs to find land to build another 5,400 by 2041.

The Independent candidate for Drybrook and Lydbrook says in his election propaganda leaflet that “only a radical plan” can stop the “madness” of building a new garden town between the A40 and A48 which would “chaos and forever change the landscape and make-up of our Forest”.

“Herefordshire Council has dumped their housing allocation five minutes drive from Mitcheldean, putting huge pressure on already strained services,” Mr Forester’s leaflet reads.

“If Ross joined the Forest then the Government and developers could no longer force us to grant permission for a new town out towards Gloucester.”

Mr Forester says Ross is on the “right side” of the River Wye and is “effectively the Forest’s fifth town already”.

“Given people’s dissatisfaction with Herefordshire unitary [council], I would be surprised if there wasn’t quite a lot of support in Ross for the idea too.”

The town has strong links with the Dean, its rugby club is the only non-Gloucestershire side taking part in the Forest Combination Cup and it is often marketed as the “gateway to the Forest of Dean”, but overcoming the “friendly rivalry” might be a bridge too far for Rossians.

Herefordshire Councillor Louis Stark (LD, Ross West) said while the market town has strong links with the Forest, proposals to join the same council area are “probably non-starter”.

He said the market town has strong links with the Forest and a “friendly rivalry”.

“As to the annexation being serious, I really don’t think the residents of Ross would like to leave Herefordshire,” he said.

“I’ve always said we should join Wales, we’d get a better deal,” he joked.

Kerne Bridge Councillor Simeon Cole, (C) said he had never heard such a suggestion before.

And Ross North Cllr Chris Bartrum (LD) said he has knocked on doors in Ross since 2005 and “nobody has ever brought up the suggestion of joining the Forest”.

Other candidates standing in the Drybrook and Lydbrook division include Reform UK’s Piers Camp, Conservative Terry Hale, Labour’s Di Martin, Liberal Democrat Susan Warren and Stephen James Yeates of the Green Party.

Herefordshire Council declined to comment.