I am at a loss to understand how a council, which I thought took some pride in its "green" credentials, could have even considered the Stanley Road Allotments as a potential site for a new Stanley Park High School. Are you so out of touch with this community, our heritage, our environment and the importance of sustainable living?

The allotments have for years provided local residents with the opportunity to grow and eat their own produce, to get healthy exercise and to enjoy an invaluable open space in our crowded borough. To even consider the possibility of closure and the loss of this amenity is to deny many of the principles and policies which the council has laid down.

The Carshalton Lavender Project is a wonderful example of the excellent work of the BioRegional Development Group and the local community working together to give relevance to our heritage, to improve our environment, to create a thriving wildlife habitat, to involve many volunteers and to work with disadvantaged members of our society. It is a successful, viable and sustainable project which gives much pleasure to all involved, both locals and many visitors.

The council simply cannot and must not write this off. This site should never have been an option and must be discounted with a strong commitment given to its future both as an allotment and as a lavender field.

PAUL WICKHAM Warnham Court Road Carshalton Beeches