I'D like to echo the concerns of Ivor Ellis, letters May 19. The Forest of Dean District Council' s development plans for Cinderford will erase a huge chunk of the statutory Forest, and involve the construction of a major new road. What's more, the necessity for this development has never been conclusively demonstrated. The Northern United site, close by, has been vacant for decades; if there was such demand for development space surely this prime spot would have been snapped up years ago?
The council's plans to build 6,000 new homes in the district by 2026, are also deeply troubling. While it could be argued that creeping urbanisation may benefit the local economy, and will certainly improve the council's finances, one has to wonder whether all this development doesn't form part of a deliberate strategy to weather the current financial climate by sacrificing some of the natural beauty of our Forest?
Alun Williamson
Drybrook