Very much in line with current Government thinking on stakeholder consultation the purpose of the Group is to provide a strong voice, representative of the whole community, in areas of concern to local people.
Redbrook has long suffered from unusual difficulties as a result of administrative and national boundaries which dissect the community. This leads to constant allegations of neglect on the part of many public services and the new Group aims to establish strong and positive working relationships with local Press and Media, Police Authorities, Members of Parliament, a number of Local Authorities and other formal consultative bodies which involve the community and local area.
The Group intends to join forces with other local communities that have common interests such as Wyesham residents who face similar road safety and traffic calming problems; the STOP campaign; and other pressure groups concentrating on the SUSTRANS Cycleway proposals.
However, already the initiative has met with a mixed response from local authorities with the Forest of Dean District Council and Newland Parish Council very positive about it. However, Monmouthshire County Council is dismissive of the idea that the community needs to have such a mechanism to speak for itself, says the Group.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Contact Group the County Council stated that it would not recognise the community initiative as necessary or desirable.
Speaking up for the idea the newly elected Chairman of the Contact Group, David Knapman explained: "It is intended that the Group will provide an additional point of consultation to complement the role already played by elected representatives on the various local authorities. The advantage will be that the Contact Group may be seen as being fully representative of the community instead of only one part of it.
"I see it as an important pressure group in ensuring that outside investment and public spending is directed where it is most beneficial. There are already a number of areas of great concern including crime levels, road safety and traffic calming, the Cycleway proposals for the Wye Valley, the improvements still needed to the riverside and the provision of a safe and adequate place for local children to play."
When it was established, it was agreed that the Contact Group should be made up of representatives of the various community organisations and interest groups already in existence in the locality while remaining fully open to every member of the Redbrook community.
The Group is already working closely with the Forest of Dean District Council to carry on the re-development of the river frontage and has set up public forums to address issues of policing and the Cycleway options.