Event stopped after 'abuse' over beauty spot plans

A consultation event for residents to study beauty spot restoration plans ended early because of a protest and "abusive and inflammatory language" on social media, organisers said.

Cannop Ponds, in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, were created in the 1820s, but Forestry England has said they do not meet modern safety requirements.

Restoration plans, which are opposed by some locals, will see a slipway created, a dam strengthened and a mixture of open water marsh and reedbeds added.

Forestry England said "we believe in freedom of speech and respect the right of people to protest peacefully " but added the sessions ended for "the safety and wellbeing" of its staff and those in attendance.

Forest of Dean residents have been campaigning since 2022 for the dams to be preserved, but concerns have been raised about the specifics of what is being proposed.

Simon Lewis, from campaign group Save Cannop Ponds, attended Wednesday's public event at Speech House, near Coleford, before it ended.

"We understand that repairs need to be done, that's fair enough. The nature of the repairs is the problem and also the fact that they're putting in things that are not necessary to the continuation of the place," he said.

"They're putting in plastic bridges, they're putting in plastic boardwalks and things like that, which local people don't need.

"You don't need to polish it up, you don't need to add tourist attraction elements," he said.

Forestry England's Deputy Surveyor, Kevin Stannard, said the changes were needed because of "future climate" concerns.

"We're getting more extreme rainfall events and that triggers flood risk," he said.

"The way the reservoirs need to act in the future is they need to pass more water safely, so in an extreme storm they don't overtop - because that's the biggest safety risk for a reservoir overtopping.

"At the moment the spillways are not big enough, they're not wide enough - they can't pass enough water."

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.