I AM writing to comment on the recent announcement that around 26 pitches are having to be sought in the Forest area for gypsy, traveller and showpeople accommodation sites. This is a national dictate, forced upon councils nationwide by an unelected body set up by this dead-on-its-legs government of ours. I note from the district council's website that this dictate has come about following "public consultation". Could I ask who has been consulted? Certainly, nobody in our area that I know has been asked. Possibly, the consultation took place amongst the aforementioned social groups?
Has this unelected body seriously looked at the Forest area to determine its suitability for such an initiative? This in an area which depends upon the tourist trade, farming, forestry and some scant remains of industrial/ commercial activity? Heavens, our local economy is fragile enough!
It would seem to me that faceless suits in coffee-table intellectual discussions somewhere remote from the Forest are attempting to carry out some radical social re-engineering on the already-downtrodden Forest folk. It's all very well to quote "equal rights" at us, but where are the equal rights for the resident taxpayers of this district in this matter?
The only light on the horizon would seem to be when the citizens of this country vote out the incumbent incompetents and allow a party of common sense and pragmatism to govern. I am not a committed supporter of any party, but I have read that the Tories intend to do away with several of these unelected bodies. I would welcome comment from our local MP as to whether he stands behind this intention, as I'm sure most informed people would agree that the Forest could not sustain this level of encampments on our local land.
In the meantime I would urge people to write to the bureaucrat who is managing this issue (you'll find the details on the council's website) and suggest to her where all the encampments could be sited – around her own home.
Name and address supplied, Coleford.