WE write to congratulate Jonathan Horenfield, winner of Bury's first Making Bury Greener competition. His essay urges developers to build only carbon-neutral buildings from now on, encourages all of us to walk or take the bus instead of using cars, and asks for more trees and green open spaces.

At 17, Jonathan has a clear understanding of environmental problems, and their solutions.

The same cannot be said for Bury's councillors and current plans for Bury town centre show that our politicians have a great deal to learn from the younger generation. It is all very well for the mayor and mayoress - and MP David Chaytor - to be photographed smiling alongside Jonathan, but what about some action, along the lines that Jonathan suggests, to protect Bury's environment before it's too late?

Despite the discovery of rare wildlife habitats nearby, work has already started on the Townside Fields development opposite the town hall.

This will very soon see a green open space concreted over with shops, offices and a huge new car park. Many trees will be cut down, and wildlife links will inevitably lose out to noise and pollution.

The next stage will see the loss of Pyramid Park, including (as the plans stand at the moment) its lake, which is set to be filled in.

Perhaps our councillors can be forgiven for having approved this crazy scheme. After all, when they were at school, in the 1960s and 1970s, urban environments were seen just as something to be controlled and exploited. Concrete was cool, the car was king, and climate change was unheard of.

But things have changed. The recent unprecedented flooding and unpredictable weather are a wake-up call: signs, perhaps, that the planet is reacting against all this environmental exploitation.

Building concrete tower blocks on a thriving green space simply can't be justified.

It's high time that Bury's councillors listened to the younger generation - and to the planet itself - and cancelled this profiteering project.

Townside Fields should remain fields. Better still, we propose an eco-park for this site, and Jonathan and his fellow environment champions - rather than councillors Boden and co or their property developer partners' - should be its designers.

BRIAN GEE, KATH GEE, Local residents