MADAM – I moved to Stroud just one year ago having thought about its green vision and the fact that things could only get better, how wrong can you be?

The drive coming into Stroud whether from Cirencester, Gloucester or Nailsworth passes many disused factories and mills which are part of the heritage of this area and reflect the history of the long lost wool producing industrial past, something to be proud of and to use for the good of the community that it shaped.

I searched for a property to buy and to my absolute joy I found a little mill cottage just on the edge of town.

I researched the history and was thrilled to find that it was bordered by an area that was being conserved for the use of the people living in Stroud and for visitors to enjoy the wildlife and beauty of an area that has been sympathetically manage by various charities – brilliant.

My partner and I moved into our little cottage in May 2013 and spent the whole of the summer sitting in the garden watching people come and enjoy the mill pond.

Summer 2014 arrived and we thought things would be much the same as before – how wrong can you be.

We awoke one spring morning to the sound of a chainsaw and the sight of the willow trees – those that border the canal and shield the railway line – being cut down with seemingly no regard for the conservation of the environment.

We rang the council which said that a builder was building 35 houses on the site and had every right to “pollard” the trees.

We then rang the tree officer who came to the site and agreed that the builders could carry on.

Amazingly, he also said that we had no right to even cut the tops from the trees on our side of the pond.

I can only say that the sight was heartbreaking and the sound of the birds screeching at the loss of their habitat was terrible.

The owl that used to hoot at night, has left as have the bats that used to swoop around in the twilight hours.

I felt that I needed to understand how Stroud District Council could pass such a planning application, the more I looked into the matter the more it seemed that this building firm knew exactly how to move forward with its objective after putting application after application into the planning department.

I have no understanding of planning applications, but when I viewed the website I found many applications stating with a request for two houses, this was refused because (I think) the road exits onto a blind corner with no vision to the right hand side.

Now 35 houses with, I expect, at least 50 cars will now be entering and exiting the site at this point. Utter madness.

I am sitting writing this while listening to the strimmer taking down what’s left of the grass land on the site, I can only imagine what is happening to the newts and grass snakes and all the other animals that lived in this once safe environment.

I know that people need homes, I also know that there is pressure from central government to build on green field sites but I challenge Stroud planners to take a walk along this once beautiful canal side and take a good look at Stroud’s bare backside.

Stroud is certainly not the green and pleasant land it purports to be.

Caroline Green

Stroud