CLLR Hornby doesn't agree with the Forestry Commission's decision to force Blackthorn Homes to replant the 500 trees they cut down in Darcy Lever railway cutting five years ago (The Bolton News, December 28).

He says it's "ridiculous to plant trees if they're going to have to be taken out again". But the replanted trees will only have to be taken out if Blackthorn is successful in its application to build houses in the cutting, and that application hasn't even been considered yet.

Darcy Lever Residents' Association fully supports the Forestry Commission's action, and welcomes the replanting that has taken place. Blackthorn has had ample opportunity to replant the trees since the order to replant was imposed. It was this company which asked for extensions to the court order, not the Forestry Commission, so the trees could have been planted three years ago, but that didn't suit Blackthorn's plans.

The Residents' Association will be opposing Blackthorn's planning application, and we hope Cllr Hornby will be too. We're grateful for the support he and other ward councillors have given us so far, but we beg to differ with him on this one. The Forestry Commission was right to insist on the replanting, and the Residents' Association will do everything in its power to keep the newly planted trees where they are.

The best help our councillors can give us in this regard is to make sure that all saplings in the cutting are protected by a Tree Protection Order. We've been fighting Blackthorn for almost 15 years, and we don't intend to give up now.

Robert Marshall, chair, and Neil Duffield, press officer Darcy Lever Residents' Association