WE have considerable sympathy with Friends of the Earth, who have pulled out of Bolton's Environment Forum on the eve of the town's Environment Week.

FOE co-ordinator Dennis Watson made some valid points, particularly those relating to the council's approval of the Red Moss tip project.

We should like to see Red Moss made into a haven for wildlife and a site of special scientific interest, not a rubbish dump for much of Greater Manchester.

But we strongly disagree with any criticism of the sports village scheme at Horwich. The scheme will not only be a huge social and prestigious asset to the town, but create much-needed jobs. And it is unfair to berate the council about the new incinerator development at Bolton General Hospital. The council fought hard to thwart the plan, but received unequivocal legal advice that there were no planning grounds on which the council could pursue the fight.

As Council leader Bob Howarth pointed out, Mr Watson can avoid difficult decisions, but the council is sometimes forced to adopt an unpopular stance.

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