IT IS to be regretted that the qualification for a national environmental programme to commemorate the Millennium is likely to leave Okehampton high and dry.
Under a proposal by the Millennium Commission, 200 new woods throughout England and Wales are hopefully to be created, financed by lottery money.
This would be achieved by acquiring limited acreage near town centres to be planted with trees and equipped, possibly, for children's recreational use.
Judging by Okehampton's role as host for 2000 new houses by 2011, which will mean taking in every square inch of greenbelt within a mile of the town paid for at top market values, the response from landowners to sell land for any other lesser purpose (if there is any available) is hardly likely to be deafening.
How different it could be if the commission included in its scheme 'mature woods' as well as new.
This would bring into contention many sites of outstanding scenic beauty, close to the town, privately-owned but possibly open to negotiation, which could be turned by determined effort and lottery funding into a smaller-scale Simmons Park with winding paths and seats where Okehampton people, young and old, could stroll amid pleasant surroundings.
Wishful thinking?
Jack Hellier
Castle Road
Okehampton