Les and Linda Hurst, of Ridge Hill, Dartmouth, write: In last week's Chronicle you published an article and a letter concerning the removal of an area of brambles in the Community Orchard on Ridge Hill that were critical of the council's management of the orchard. The group that ­presents itself as Friends of the Orchard do not speak for all the users of the orchard or all of the residents of Ridge Hill/Mount Boone. The removal of the very small area of brambles was not, as stated, an act of vandalism. The council has seen this as an opportunity to make a derelict and inaccessible area of the orchard available to the community as a whole. The area was not, as stated, 'grubbed up and made smooth, by a mechanical digger, in one short afternoon'. There was a six-week period between the brambles being cut back and the uneven ground levelled. Why was no representation made during that period? Maybe people are hiding behind biodiversity and loss of habitat as a screen for their nimbyism. It may be of interest that in a recent BBC Countryfile ­programme it was stated that removal of brambles aided ­biodiversity. The Community Orchard has been in place since 1993 and there now appears to be a move to make it a nature reserve. By definition this would be ­counter to improving and increasing accessibility. Many dog owners use the orchard on a daily basis and this attempt to change its character would almost certainly result in restricted access to these most regular users.