Cllr Piers Camp - Reform UK Gloucestershire

24/06/2026

🔥 ANOTHER FULL COUNCIL 🔥

Up here in the heat at Shire Hall, representing Drybrook, Lydbrook and the wider Forest of Dean. 🌳🇬🇧

So what’s on today’s agenda, folks? Youth Voice in Climate. Community Energy. DOUGHNUT ECONOMICS. 🍩

Let that sink in. Not ONE of those is going to fix a pothole, slow the traffic past your kids’ school, or help a single Forester who’s struggling right now. 👇

While they debate buzzwords, here’s what WE are fighting for:

✅ A Highways Community Partnership — giving YOU a real say over the roads you actually drive
✅ Reinstating Speed Watch — making our lanes and villages safer

Practical. Local. Things that change your day to day life. That’s the job I was sent here to do. 💪

What do you reckon? 👇

23/06/2026

Farm Road, Ruardean Woodside



This road will be closed (as per the attached plan) on the 25/08/2026 - 27/08/2026 to allow for works by Severn Trent Water.



Emergency and pedestrian access will be maintained.



If you should require further information please email [email protected]

23/06/2026

Maze Walk, Christchurch



This road will be closed (as per the attached plan) on the 13th July 2026 to 7th August 2026 to allow for private sewer connection works.



Emergency access will be maintained.



If you should require further information please email [email protected]

23/06/2026

The Square and Caudle Lane, Ruardean



This road will be closed (as per the attached plan) on the 22/06/2026 - 10/07/2026 to allow for works by National Grid.



Emergency and pedestrian access will be maintained.



If you should require further information please email [email protected]

15/06/2026

📜 811 years ago today

On 15 June 1215, English barons forced King John to put his seal to Magna Carta at Runnymede. More than eight centuries on, it still shapes the freedoms we take for granted. 👑⚖️

For the first time, a King of England was told in writing that he was not above the law.

What it stood for still underpins our liberty today:
• ⚖️ No one above the law, not even the powerful
• 🔒 No free man imprisoned without lawful judgement
• 🗽 The freedom of the individual against an over mighty state
• 🏛️ The first steps towards Parliament and government by consent

And there is a proud Gloucestershire chapter too. 🏰 With the charter close to being lost, a nine year old Henry III was crowned at Gloucester Cathedral in 1216. That moment helped breathe fresh life into Magna Carta and keep it alive. Our county sits right at the heart of the story.

The lesson is as true now as it was then: power must always answer to the people, never the other way round. 💪🇬🇧

That belief is exactly why I do this job.

Reform UK Gloucestershire Forest of Dean Reform UK

14/06/2026

⚠️ A40 OVER BRIDGE WORKS START 29 JUNE — FORESTERS, PLAN AHEAD

You may already have noticed the A417 slip road onto the A40 westbound closed off — that’s the first sign of what’s coming. From Monday 29 June, National Highways begins a £7 million, nine-month refurbishment of the A40 Over Bridge, running all the way through to March 2027.

Here’s what it means for our journeys:
• July to October: the eastbound carriageway closes fully, with a single-lane contraflow on the westbound side.
• October to January: lane closures in both directions.
• February to March 2027: traffic management gradually removed.
• Up to seven overnight closures along the way (never more than two nights running), and the footpath and cycleway stay open throughout.

For thousands of us in the Forest, the Over Bridge is the gateway into Gloucester — for work, hospital appointments, school runs and family. Nine months of disruption on an already stretched route is no small thing.

This week I have written formally to National Highways with a detailed set of questions on behalf of residents — because “significant delays” is not good enough on its own. I have pressed them on the things that matter most to us: whether emergency vehicles will be escorted through overnight closures and what the modelled impact is on ambulance and fire response times west of the Severn; quantified queue lengths and journey times for each phase; the displacement traffic that will be pushed through Maisemore, Hartpury, Tibberton, Churcham and the B4215, and what protects those villages; flood contingency on the A417 at Maisemore; and what happens to the programme, and to the contractor, if the works overrun beyond March 2027.

I have also asked them to set up a public liaison forum and regular community updates for the duration, and I have requested a reply within 10 working days. The west of the county too often ends up an afterthought on the wrong side of the Severn — not this time.

My advice for now: build in extra time, check your route before you set off, and consider quieter travel windows where you can. I’ll keep you posted as each phase begins.

As ever, if these works affect you and you hit problems, get in touch — that’s what I’m here for.

Forest of Dean Reform UKReform UK Gloucestershire

01/06/2026

Over Bridge Road Works and temporary closure!
👇🏻

📢 A40 Over Bridge Scheme – New FAQ Page Now Live
We’ve added a new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page for the A40 Over Bridge scheme to help keep you informed about the project.
The page brings together answers to common questions, giving more detail on the scheme and what it means for the local area.
👉 Take a look here:
https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/a40-over-bridge-frequently-asked-questions/
We’ll continue to share updates as the project moves forward. If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch:
📧 [email protected]
📞 0300 123 5000

29/05/2026

🇬🇧 "What can YOU do for small businesses?" 🇬🇧

That was the question put to me on stage last night here in the Forest of Dean, at our brilliant event with the legendary Ann Widdecombe. 👏

I will be honest, I was put on the spot a bit. ✋ In the moment I spoke about business rates and the importance of promoting local produce for local people, two issues I feel strongly about.

But here is the fuller answer I would have given with more time. 👇
As your County Councillor, I will fight for the Forest's small businesses by working to:

🏪 Ease the business rates burden that is hollowing out the high streets of Coleford, Cinderford, Lydney and Newent.
🥕 Champion Forest produce for Forest people. Our farmers, growers, butchers and independent shops should be first in line, not undercut by faceless national supply chains.
🌳 Back our rural economy, from the sheep farms and free miners to the foresters, makers and craftspeople who give this area its soul.
🚴 Support our tourism trade. The pubs, cafés, cycle hire firms and B&Bs that bring visitors to the Forest deserve a council that backs them, not buries them in red tape.
🛣️ Get our roads fixed. Potholes from Mitcheldean to Lydbrook wreck vans, tools and trade vehicles and cost businesses real money.
🤝 Push council contracts towards Forest of Dean firms, not national giants.
💰 Hold Shire Hall to account on waste, so council tax stops crushing local employers.
📣 Be a voice you can actually reach. If you run a business in the Forest and need help, my door is open.

And at national level, Reform UK is the only party serious about backing you. Lower taxes, scrapped IR35, a higher VAT threshold, and an end to the war on the self employed. ✅

The Forest of Dean's small businesses are the beating heart of this community. I will never stop fighting your corner. 💪

Huge thanks to Ann Widdecombe and everyone who came out. The momentum in the Forest is real. 🚀

UK Smith Ray Donaghue -Reform UK Gloucestershire Piers Camp - Reform UK Gloucestershire Reform UK Branch Leigh Challis - Reform UK Gloucestershire Michael Rees Reform UK - Stroud Cam Valley - Gloucestershire of Dean Reform UK Dean Botterill Reform UK - Stroud Gloucestershire UK Gloucestershire

27/05/2026

ROAD CLOSURE

Hawthorns Road, Drybrook

This road will be closed (as per the attached plan) on the 29/06/2026 09:00 - 15:00 to allow for works by Severn Trent Water.

"I've been assure that it will only be closed after 9am and open before 3pm, so should not directly affect school traffic."

Emergency and pedestrian access will be maintained.


If you should require further information please email [email protected]