Following on from a particularly wacky idea voiced through the local media and, I believe, also in a letter to the Chief Executive of North Lincolnshire Council, I found myself for the first time in a good many years compelled to put pen to paper and contact the paper concerned. To date my reply has not been printed and time, I fear, will knock some of the harshness out of my words. Hence I contacted visitscunthorpe.com � here is my first contribution: According to the local press, North Lincolnshire Council was being urged to spend �2 million on ancient woodland which had been put up for sale. It would seem that Broughton Town Councillor Gary Glover had sent an open letter to council bosses after the decision to sell off Broughton Woods was announced and Councillor Glover was quoted as saying "a purchase price of approximately �2 million is an absolute bargain�. This was my response: I was interested to read of now former Broughton Town Council�s Gary Glover and his, one assumes, new voluntary role as � to use the Americanism � Realtor in the Scunthorpe Telegraph of September 30, 2010. Under the present Coalition Government, and its �Age of Austerity� regime of swingeing cuts, this could well prove to be a lucrative, though tainted, career path for Mr Glover as, no doubt, many thousands of homes will be forced into the selling market as families struggle to survive with reduced support. Curiously Mr Glover�s first attempt at �Daley-esque� selling is the offer of statutorily protected ancient woodland to North Lincolnshire Council for a �bargain� two million pounds. I write curious as the ancient woodland is already on the books of another agent and therefore does not require the intervention of, one can only imagine, the well-meaning Mr Glover. Curious also, because, as far as I am aware, Mr Glover does not own the woods and he is therefore not best placed to comment on their value - be it �bargain� or other. I am sure that North Lincolnshire Council feel under some level of obligation but, given central Government strictures, will have far better uses for two million pounds other than lining the pocket of a not too cash-strapped land-owner. Interestingly, Mr Glover remains tight-lipped on the identity of the present owner of the woods, but perhaps, given the �positive impact� the woods �have as green spaces for the local communities� and their �sustainable contribution to the commercial economy�, it would prove more beneficial to all if the woods were freely offered to the people of North Lincolnshire under the stewardship of an organisation with experience in the preservation of ancient woodland, such as the Woodland Trust, to ensure that its positive impact and sustainable contribution continues.