Many readers of the Gazette will have visited Croome Park.

The Park, which is now owned by the National Trust, has undergone an extensive ten-year restoration programme with the help of a substantial grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund and a generous donation from Royal and Sun Alliance.

This exceptional and internationally-important landscape, created in the 18th Century by Lancelot "Capability" Brown and the Sixth Earl of Coventry, was conceived as a whole, with every part of the court (the house at its centre), the park and the wider estate integral to Brown's overall design.

A plan has been submitted to Malvern Hills District Council to build six single-storey dwellings in a section of the historic Walled Garden, which is not at present in National Trust ownership.

The Friends of Croome Park and the National Trust itself are strongly opposed to any such inappropriate development which, if it were to take place, would irretrievably damage the integrity of Croome, as well as effectively denying any future possibility of the Walled Garden being restored in a way that is in keeping with the park and, not least, the court.

Both the Walled Garden and the court it was designed to serve have listed status, a clear recognition of their historic significance and value.

Increasing numbers visit Croome every year; it is a place of which Worcestershire and the country can be proud. This precious part of our national heritage is a place of recreation enjoyed by people of all ages.

The Walled Garden has been in existence for over 250 years. We should all do everything we can to ensure its survival for at least another 250 and, better still, to see it sensitively restored, in time and when funds are available, for everyone to enjoy.

Eric H Jones (Dr), chairman, Friends of Croome Park, Bamford Close, Guarlford.