GRAHAM Morgan asks in his last letter will someone please explain why there is so much wildlife still to protect when there has been much development in the northern Cinderford area already?

I will attempt to enlighten the council yet again on why this site has become so important both for wildlife and people over the last couple of decades and why there is such a passionate and growing resolve to keep the Linear Park in one piece.

Organisations ranging from the Forest of Dean Angling Club (600 members) to the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (1,000 members in the Forest) are all standing to resist the development on wildlife and tranquillity grounds. Other organisations are pursuing equally valid reasons unrelated to wildlife.

Twenty years ago species of many kinds found at the north end of the Linear park were much more widespread across the Dean. The species that Butterfly Conservation with qualified ecologists has been concentrating on most since 2000 is the small pearl bordered fritillary. This has had a massive decline since the 1980's going from over 40 breeding colonies across the Dean to only three currently, one of which is on the Linear Park and considered as still vulnerable.

The government recognises butterflies as indicators of a good environment as they are sensitive to change so this decline alone should ring warning bells as it indicates how other less well known species of wildlife are also faring.

The reason the environmental organisations are so concerned by this development is because the wildlife has nowhere else to go having contracted in range as other existing sites have become unsuitable over time. Twenty years ago there were a number of good local sites offering a diverse number of habitats for wildlife such as the Blue Rock Trail between Soudley and Ruspidge, Shakemantle, Lightmoor, Foxes Bridge and other smaller sites which contributed to a continuous series of wildlife friendly areas and interconnections allowing populations to be more resilient to environmental shocks such as extreme weather.

Since the decline of sheep badgering and Foot and Mouth a decade ago, many of these areas in the Forest have become overgrown as fast growing ash and alder have become trees and scrub has spread and covered up the habitats many of these species relied on.

Rather perversely it is the action of industry over time that has made the north Linear Park so exceptional for wildlife. The original mine workings exposed the shale and nutrient poor soils which allowed unusual flora and insects to thrive and the Coleford Brick and Tile Company have maintained a series of ponds all at different stages of maturity as they dug a new clay extraction pit every few years and landscaped it. The latest one near the car park for the fishing lake is already being colonised by dragonflies and you can see the variety of habitats all concentrated close to each other as each pond is subtly different and attractive to particular wildlife stretching back to Winner Garage.

To conclude the north Linear Park is worthy of it's Key wildlife site status and Special Area of Conservation because it is the one site left in the Dean where you get such a concentration of habitats and species occurring in one area. The council should see this as an environmental asset and not an area to be developed just because it is easy money.

They should concentrate on regenerating Cinderford itself rather than a unique and tranquil part of the Statutory Forest a mile away from the town.

Just today (Sunday May 13) the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust with Mike Dilger from The One Show led a walk for wildlife where over 200 people walked from Speech House to the Northern United site and back to enjoy the wildlife.

It is not just a few people concerned about the environmental impact of this development, there is growing public disquiet that this is not what the citizens of the Forest want to see built in their name.

– Simon Glover, Blakeney.