A-list stars Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett were due to jet in last autumn for the filming of Ridley Scott's as yet unnamed biopic of Nottinghamshire's most infamous folk hero.

But the project was put on hold and rescheduled for this spring after producers realised leaves in the iconic forest would change colour and fall from the trees halfway through shooting the film.

Now Nottinghamshire County Council chiefs claim the British director's film would not have been given permission to film in the historic forest anyway due to the delicate nature of the site – and producers are looking to change the location to a more 'green' site.

Sherwood Forest has a history of being shunned in big screen portrayals of the outlaw, who is believed to have lived in the forest while on the run.

Closest

Kevin Costner's 1991 box office hit came closest to the outlaw's home, with 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' featuring one scene filmed in Aysgarth, near Wensleydale, North Yorkshire – a mere 126 miles from what is thought to be Robin's actual home.

The remainder of the film was filmed on location at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland.

And Mel Brooks' 1993 comedic interpretation of events, 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights', was shot thousands of miles away 'across the pond' in sunny California – the same location used by Errol Flynn's 1938 swashbuckler, 'The adventures of Robin Hood'.

Even the current BBC primetime drama series 'Robin Hood' was taken to Budapest, Hungary, for its production – a huge 1,207 miles from home.

Important

But Sherwood MP Paddy Tipping says he believes it is hugely important to bring the story of Robin Hood back to Sherwood Forest to provide a faithful depiction of Nottinghamshire and its history.

"I've always been disappointed by films which have been taken abroad and to Eastern European countries to find a more emblematic depiction of Sherwood," he said.

"The solution is to support the work of the Sherwood Forest Trust to recreate Sherwood as it was and help undo a lot of the work done by the Forestry Commission to cover the area with wall to wall conifers and help bring back a lot of natural species.

"If we can recreate the location we can recreate the magic – I really do think it's important that when visitors come to the UK they can see the real Robin Hood."

What do you think? Click below to have your say.