Dear Editor,

Referring to the report in the Tivy-Side, September 23, 'Chief makes no apology for major housing plans'.

Tai Ceredigion chief executive Steve Jones may paint a rosy picture of himself and 'his' ambitions but self praise is no praise at all. He criticises anyone who has the gumption to scrutinise his plans because they are not wearing the 'Steve Jones spectacles'.

Dictating how thing should be does not mean he is right and everyone else is wrong because his plans are challenged. Everyone including his tenants have a right to an opinion about what happens in their community.

How dare he imply that play areas are for tenant children only! We live in a close knit community. We do not have a dividing line between tenants and owner occupiers.

The slick propaganda used to persuade tenants to accept Tai Ceredigion as their landlords was very persuasive and subtle. Promises of new kitchens and updating of their properties, a tenants magazine to tell them what a wonderful job they are doing. But the other side of the coin is not highlighted. How many tenants have had to endure months of disruption whilst their homes were updated only to find that their well kept gardens had been totally trashed in the process?

When Tai Ceredigion took over the trusteeship and responsibility for the former council properties as well as the services it cost them nothing. We took them at face value believing they had honourable intentions. NEver did we as a community think that on the horizon was a big black cloud planning an attack on our community.

When a planning application to build on the play area appeared a great umbrella opened up and gathered the community under it and provided support in numbers and we weathered the storms.

We have seen the community at its best. We raised funds to engage a planning consultant who has been inspirational in the campaign and the reports from the two planning inspectors bolstered our belief that the way forward is to secure village green status and see this area protected for generations.

The day that Tai Ceredigion removed the play equipment only strengthened our resolve to do everything we could to fight this.

The swings and the climbing frame have been gone for the best part of a year now and there is no sign of them being returned but it was the intention of Tai ceredigion to make the area look disused and neglected to further their plans. This area is not a Tai Ceredigion playground, it was handed over to them in good faith by Ceredigion County Council and should remain as so.

I do not object to Tai Ceredigion building houses at all. I just think their objectives should be about developing communities not trying to divide them. The right of the child to play are paramount and protecting open spaces that can be used freely and safely are equally important. My ambitions to see this come to fruition are probably not visible to Steve Jones but I do have a spare pair of 'my spectacles' that he can borrow at any time and my advice to him is to get off his high horse and get to know the community that he clearly does not have a clue about. Communication at roots level has a lot going for it.

Mary Evans

54 Maesglas

Cardigan