There have been several tragedies in the history of Monmouth. One was when the A40 dual carriageway ploughed through the town and another was when Monmouthshire County Council got its hands on Drybridge Park.
Drybridge Park was one of the finest small urban parks in the country but it has been systematically destroyed by successive county planners who have used it as a convenient building plot.
The latest 'good cause' is the new Health Centre which will join earlier buildings and roads in the Park to leave other sites free for more lucrative developments.
Probably supported by the majority of Monmouth people, we have been fighting the felling of trees and the whittling away of the Park for over 40 years, without a single victory – so much for democracy!
I find it significant that the county council - supposedly guardian of our heritage – has left the Park out of the Conservation Area and without a single tree preservation order.
Can we presume that our county councillors are not unduly concerned that the way is always kept clear for the destruction to continue?
– Stephen Clarke, Monmouth.