Letter to the Editor: I refer to John Timbrell’s letter and fully agree with his view. I had said as much in my previous letter in The Forester and Review.

The question is why is the council, dominated by Independents and Greens, doing this?

Are the Greens really Green? 

Do they want to convert the Forest of Dean into a dormitory for people working in Gloucester/Cheltenham or Bristol? 

Or are the councillors unable to influence the council now without any direct employees?

Publica staff may not be as approachable as the directly employed staff of the council that had employed own staff. 

Or is the council leadership distant from what the people of the Forest people think or want?

I know parish councils where district councillors have stopped attending meetings. 

Do they deserve to be our councillors if they have stopped representing the people that elected them?

I do sincerely hope the present leadership is thrown out in the forthcoming elections in May and those elected be in tune with what the people of the Forest of Dean really want – to have a tranquil land where the parishes are small and people have space around them, not crowded dormitory towns.

Venk Shenoi, Blaisdon