Anthony Bramley-Harker’s letter entitled new Life for Rail Line (Letters, May 31) is a heart-warming plea for town planning sanity. West Watford is one of the most heavily built-up parts of the town and more green space is much-needed. The old Croxley rail branch has the potential to become a fantastic ‘linear park’.

Mr Bramley-Harker’s idea has three principal merits in my view: first, it would provide valuable new green space in West Watford; second, it would give a ‘quietway’ for cyclists and walkers allowing them to avoid the traffic of West Watford; and thirdly, the installation of a new linear-park would hopefully make the building of the Croxley Rail Link less likely. While the borough council has long vaunted the building of the Croxley Rail Link, many local people who want the best for the town realise that anything that makes our town more connected to London will make housebuilding pressures even worse. Housing pressure is overwhelmingly coming from London, and Watford must not be allowed to become another Harrow or another Wembley. Our town should stay independent, with its own character.

Hence, I hope that the borough council and Herts County Council will get together to give the linear park the serious consideration that it deserves. Might it perhaps figure in the forthcoming Watford Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan that is currently being drawn up at County Hall? Will that unelected entity, the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, (which has been a major force in the redevelopment of South Oxhey) put any of its considerable infrastructure budget into a linear park for Watfordians? I am not holding my breath!

Clive Jones

Sheraton Mews, Watford