Forest of Dean District Council taking residents thoughts on board at Five Acres

Deputy Leader of Forest of Dean District Council and Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Paul Hiett said:

“It has always been the aim of this Council to deliver the best facilities at Five Acres and to return it to a site that can be used by people across the Forest of Dean.

“I’m really happy that through our in-person consultation events, online meetings with Five Acres High School and Facebook Live events we have taken on board thoughts and comments of the local community. We are working with the design consultants to design indoor and outdoor facilities we hope residents across the Forest can be truly proud of.

“Our engagement with stakeholders and communities has reaffirmed the wider ambitions we held for the site. To reflect this we are, as part of the planning application preparation, providing space with the potential for a pool to be added in future and we’ll be working hard with partners to secure the funding required.

“However, in order to gain Levelling Up Funding we needed to be sure that this site could be delivered on time and in a financially sustainable manner, something that would not have been possible if the cost of a pool had been factored into the first phase.  

“I’d like to thank all officers who have been involved in the Five Acres redevelopment so far and the residents of the Forest of Dean for getting involved and helping us to shape the best possible facilities at Five Acres.”

Our focus now is to deliver the successful Levelling Up Fund bid. Phase one at  Five Acres will include the refurbishment and extension of the existing Speedwell building to provide new community and leisure facilities along with new business space to support local business growth. 

Changing Places funding has also been secured to enable a fully accessible toilet and baby change facility to feature at ground floor level. The Council is working in partnership with Hartpury University and College to introduce the Aspiration Academy, an outreach education centre.

Forest of Dean District Council is working directly with Pick Everard, the design consultants chosen for the project to deliver the new leisure facility in the Forest of Dean over the coming years and amended designs include a number of changes for future phases of development, including the new Future Expansion Zone to reserve space for a potential swimming pool. 

The Cycle Hub building has been relocated in front of the Community Sports Hub to improve visibility and security of this building for its users, with cycle hoops also now included underneath the Hub’s canopy at the front of the building. 

Following further discussions with residents the Children’s Active Play/Soft landscaping area will be relocated from the site adjacent to the proposed sports hall and also positioned in front of the Community Sports Hub to improve visibility for both users and spectators. 

Full details of the Five Acres site, the emerging designs and the latest consultation report from Gloucestershire Rural Community Council  can be found at the following link: https://www.fdean.gov.uk/planning-and-building/regeneration/five-acres-redevelopment-site/