Local government shake-up plans which could see the Forest of Dean lose its own council have sparked calls for Foresters to stand up for themselves and even “consider independence or joining Wales”.

There are fears the district is being treated as the “poor relation” in discussions on council reorganisation in Gloucestershire.

And Forest of Dean District Councillors are calling on civic chiefs to not be afraid in standing up for the area which “has a long history of making its voices heard”.

They do not want so see history repeated in “being put upon and shut out of the way”.

At their meeting on March 20, councillors discussed the letter which was sent to Local Government and English Devolution minister Jim McMahon the previous week on behalf of all the county’s authorities.

It outlines three options for the county, one which involves a unitary authority which would see all six districts merged with Gloucestershire County Council.

Another option to create two unitary councils one in the west which includes Gloucester, Forest of Dean and Stroud and another in the east with Cheltenham, Cotswolds,........

© South Wales Argus