THE future of the county lies buried in a mountain of paperwork after Herefordshire Council received a huge response to its unitary development plan.

More than 4,000 comments, covering housing, employment, strategy and transport were received by the council and will now be sifted through before a revised draft is issued at the end of the year.

Councillor Chris Grover, the council's cabinet member for the environment said: "This is a key strategic document which will have a significant impact in every corner of the county for the next ten years.

"We are extremely pleased that so many major organisations which have a wide influence on the county have taken the time to read it and comment on it."

Proposals that attracted most comments include the development of a 60-acre site around Munstone for housing and industry and the future of Unity Gardens on Ledbury Road.

Volunteers at the garden, including Dene Storey, are fighting to preserve the site as a public space.

He said: "We are extremely pleased by the response. It is a sign of the public's strong feeling about the subject and we feel that this is the correct way to deal with the decision."