AN AMBITIOUS planning application for Dymock, if approved, will lead to a new housing estate, the creation of a large canal basin, a new car park and a children's play area.

The parish council has been pushing hard for almost a decade for such improvements after a parish appraisal, in 1991, and a parish plan, in 2003, both highlighted community priorities.

High on the list was a need for affordable housing.

Now the Forest of Dean District Council has received, on July 20, an application for the restoration of the Hereford to Gloucester Canal in Dymock, the building of a village car park and children's play area and a residential development comprising fourteen affordable homes and six other homes for the open market.

The application, from the Hereford and Gloucester Canal Trust and Two Rivers Housing, also calls for a 420 q metre play area and a car park with twenty spaces.

There would be a mix of housing, of between one and three bedrooms, including two affordable bungalows.

Consultation ended on August 5, and the application is now "pending consideration".