Dear Editor,

Referring to your article in last week’s edition of the Ross Gazette in connection with a proposed application for the open land at Cawdor Gardens, I would like to make the following comments in support of this application.

Whilst no-one wants to see any open land built upon unnecessarily, this particular land has been unused for many years and even the few allot-ments that were there in the past have gone.

Ross Charity Trustees have been endeavouring to sell this land for many years in order to raise capital to enable them to purchase homes to let at affordable rents, which are desperately needed in the town.

Historically, in Ross, it was usually the more elderly members of the population who were in the greatest need of affordable homes to rent. However, this is not now the case and it has become more and more obvious over recent years that it is younger people who have the biggest problems in finding somewhere to live.

It is for this reason that the Trustees are endeavouring to sell the land at Cawdor to enable them to reduce this need a little and I fully support them in their efforts to help address an increasing problem.

Margaret Bickerton

Ross-on-Wye