I am wondering how many people have written in the past years to the planning department of East Devon District Council in protests of some proposed development or tree work without actually using the word ‘object’ or ‘objection’.

Those who might be surprised that their letter is classified as ‘neutral’ – as was mine when I wrote to express my dismay at yet another application to cut down a further mature tree of the few that are left in the grounds of Elvestone.

There were quite a number of letters against the felling of this tree, which had a Tree Preservation Order on it and is in a conservation area.

That our protests were disregarded was not a surprise to me, but that my letter was deemed to be ‘neutral’. If the council person had read it, they would have realised at once that I very much objected to this!

I am not computerised and ask myself whether our letters are scanned by a computer for the words ‘object’ and ‘objection’ and that nobody bothers to read them. Two other letters were classified as ‘neutral’ and, when I contacted their authors, they were equally horrified.

It seems that the planning department is not interested in what people think or feel. We do not need to give reasons why we disagree; all we have to do is write ‘I object’.

Mrs B E Spurway

Lion House, 10 Fore Street Hill,

Budleigh Salterton.