THE recent decision by Caerphilly County Borough Council cabinet members in approving a report to purchase the old Markham Colliery site for the purpose of a country park should be partly commended.

But is it really necessary to have yet another country park within the county borough? A far bolder initiative would have been for the cabinet to build some industrial units on part of the old colliery site and encourage small businesses to set up there. Markham is a high unemployment zone that for far too long has been neglected by successive Caerphilly County Borough Council administrations. Some will say that there are industrial sites relevantly close to Markham. That is a fair argument, but a similar argument could be used about the proposed new supermarket in Blackwood (an area that already has three supermarkets within its catchment area). The old Markham Colliery site is an ideal place to locate small industrial units and historically has always been a place of employment. One would have thought that Caerphilly County Borough Council cabinet members would have been more visionary in its goal for this site. Yet again the citizens of Markham have been snubbed by the people who are supposed to represent them.

Wayne Thomas, Monmouth Walk, Markham