THE dreadful plan to destroy a huge chunk of Leverhulme Park by building a cycle track seems to have leapt from nowhere.

I'm told it was mentioned a while ago. Where?

It must ave been announced in a whisper.

I first heard of it before a recent trip to Spain. I returned to see a well-designed map in the Bolton News.

A totally horrific idea. Leverhulme Park is a natural space. The park is a real gem. Walks, nature, sports for family and friends. Why do some folks see a space with grass, trees ad paths, with a stream and a river and view it as a waste?

Remove natural spaces and impose fences, gates, manufactured trackways, extra buildings. Cyclists can already cycle through the park (unlike my childhood days when a uniformed geezer would order you to ('gerrof that bike!)

It has a mixture of flat surfaces and hills. People can stroll with their family walk their dogs and push their prams. Some of the spaces down by the river were industrial in the 19th century. Nature has worked hard to eradicate all the signs.

I was brought up in Lever Hall Road and the park was a natural play and walk space for us. Just as it is today, I still walk from Blackshaw Brook finished at the site of the dreaded cycle track.

If the council needs to spend let them improve the town centre parking, pull together the disjointed shopping area and wipe out the sickening refuse dumping situation. Otherwise we will have a pointless cycle track to go with a weed covered town centre.

David Sharples

Tarbet Drive

Breightmet