I WOULD like to emphasise that Unity Garden is not against a new care home in Hereford but believe there are more suitable sites available.

With a little imagination and willingness, I am sure Hereford could have both projects.

Our lease was granted for two years with the understanding that it would 'co terminate' with the adoption of the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) expected to be spring 2004.

We were encouraged to participate in the consultation of the UDP as this would 'form the development plan for this land.'

We did participate in the consultation of the UDP and the classification of the Unity Garden site received the second highest number of comments for any single issue.

As the adoption of the UDP has been postponed until spring 2005, Unity Garden has requested a rolling lease to take us to the new adoption date.

Only at this time will we know if the site is to be reclassified by an independent examiner as 'public open space' and so protected from development.

The UDP consultation is a democratic way to create policies that represent the wishes of the whole community. Such consultation takes time, but once embarked upon should be allowed to conclude and inform precisely the type of choices the councillors are now facing.

With regard to available funding, the deputy Prime Minister has recently announced £201m pounds of new funding for the enhancement of the local environment and public open spaces, and he has emphasised the importance of community gardens. It is however up to local authorities to apply for this money.

There are alternative sites for this Extra Care development as councillor Roger Phillips acknowledges in his letter. We believe the council should be looking at these sites more closely rather than turning their back on an important consultation and threatening a project which is already providing a valuable asset to the community.

We have so far been turned down for a rolling lease.

Jim Morris-Ridout,

Unity Garden Chairperson.