I WRITE to express my concern regarding the High Court decision to allow the development at Tutshill (Review, October 14).

At a time when the Allocations Plan is being considered by the inspector, it seems short-sighted to be allowing decisions to be made regarding sites that impact upon that plan.

I appreciate the government needs to build additional housing in the country, but such housing should be built in areas where there is a need for it and I do not believe that the Forest of Dean is one of those areas.

This information is not obvious from looking at the figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which show an increase in Gloucestershire as a whole, but details which can be acquired from online property sites and local estate agents show that the local housing market is severely depressed in the Forest area.

All this at a time when the local jobs market is apparently in decline (your front page article in the same issue) and certainly shows no sign of improving.

Anyone purchasing a house in the Forest is therefore almost certain to be commuting to work in Gloucester, Bristol, Cardiff or any of the other areas where work is to be found, thus putting further strain on an already creaking infrastructure.

I therefore suggest that any further decisions on major housing developments should be postponed until after the Allocations Plan review by the inspector and that government housing allocations should take into account more local details regarding housing requirements.

– R Bateman, Berry Hill.