I read the letter from Mr Gerald Box "Wrong thinking will derail plans" (Mailbox, October 29) with interest.

The "vociferous" group (the Minorca Opencast Protest Group, or MOPG), the "obstructive" thinking and to "contaminate" a local planning application – all negative words used to attack opinions that are simply different from his.

Mr Box failed to mention that he has an involvement within the Ashby Canal Trust (ACT) and so perhaps has a vested interest in the progress of the Ashby Canal. That said, I would also really like to see the Ashby Canal restored, but must also state that I am a supporter of the MOPG.

Mr Box has written a book, Clinging on... The Moira Cut, Coal and the Last Days of Carrying. The Moira Cut is an alternative name for the Ashby Canal and I would suspect that from the book title that he is very well placed to support the ACT, and I sincerely hope his efforts help the cause, but we should not, as the book title suggests, cling on to the past.

I suspect that Mr Box may have a rosy view of the past and the way canals and railways were then used to support the country, and in some respects I feel the same, but a warm feeling about the past surely cannot be an acceptable reason to allow open casting to go ahead, or to build a new rail link.

I would also like to point out that there is some irony in Mr Box condemning the MOPG, who are opposed to the digging of large holes in our countryside, by writing a letter referring to Mr Eric Goodyer who, along with Mr Box, is in favour of the Leicester to Burton railway line, but is against quarrying in Charnwood, and so, it would appear, also does not want large holes in our countryside!

Garry Priestland, Measham.