I HAVE lived in the Forest of Dean since 1972 and during this time have 'done my bit' on voluntary work serving the community.

It has enabled me to experience at first hand the work of the Forestry Commission in the Dean. I have nothing but praise for them locally.

I think the Forestry Commission in the Dean do a good job and am sorry to see a good team being decimated by the politicians.

I joined HOOF to try to preserve the Forest of Dean situation on the basis of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. I had a letter published in Coleford Forester and have attached a copy to this E mail. It gives you some of the answers you requested and I cannot over- emphasise the health issue. I did also have an ulterior motive in this letter which I showed to Baroness Royall at the meeting near Speech House when she removed the HOOF notice from the tree! I will briefly deal with this as follows.

My career was spent in the power industry on building, running and maintaining power stations both conventional and nuclear which supply electricity to the national grid.

My arrival in the Forest was precipitated by being appointed to a Project Team at Cheltenham designing the Sizewell B power station.

We were ready in 1973 to issue the detailed specification for tendering purposes when the Energy Minister said 'No, we must talk about this'. A number of years later it did go ahead and Sizewell B is now working very well.

There has been nothing but delay, delay, delay by successive Energy Ministers ever since on the nuclear question.

This has landed the supply industry in dire straights for the security of supply in future.

Nuclear generated power works – there is no economic alternative. I consider it foolhardy to burn trees and also economic suicide to go for wind turbines.

There, I have had my say. I wish your team every success in the hope that our Forest can be saved.

Gordon Flight

Coleford