Sir, Clr. Calver's lengthy and misleading letter regarding the MoD proposal to introduce firing after dark at the Manorbier range (in your edition of January 20) would be laughable were it not addressing such a serious issue. The balance needs to be redressed as your readers need to be made aware of the following points. 1) The proposal is entirely unacceptable for a number of reasons, including the fact that it will have a very serious effect on the health of the local population, particularly children and the elderly; it will exacerbate the existing noise and other pollution problems; it will adversely affect the local economy, particularly tourism; and it further endangers the declared policy of improving the tourist economy. 2) The background to the existing situation is that in recent years the activity at the range has escalated with the introduction of extremely noisy low-flying aircraft targeted on the range which make life in its environs unbearable. It is noteworthy and perhaps typical that Defence Estates, have changed, surreptitiously, the designation of the range from RAR to Air Defence Range. These developments have taken place without any local consultation or permission being sought from the local authority. The current proposal is the last straw. What next? 3) The concept of allowing firing after dark for an experimental period is nonsensical as we already have vast experience of what the firing is like, on 100 days per year, with the noise levels reaching unacceptable levels. Another problem with a trial period is that once permission is given, it is unlikely to be rescinded. 4) It is clear that while there are other possibilities, the MoD's main reason for using Manorbier is that it is the cheapest option. These operations have been privatised with the defence group QinetiQ responsible for running the firing ranges. According to the business pages, parts of QinetiQ are now up for sale and its directors and backers now stand to make huge profits from its deals with the MoD. The Government will reduce its holding to below 30 per cent and Carlyle, the US private-equity firm, who have a 34 per cent stake in QinetiQ, is looking to make an 800 per cent profit on its original investment. So, of course, to QinetiQ cost is a very important factor. However, the exploitation of the goodwill of loyal citizens by the obfuscation of the commercial nature of the range operation is insulting. Profits will be made at the expense of the peace, health and wellbeing of the Manorbier community. 5) Clr. Calver's support of the Armed Services would have been laudable in 1939, but today it is misguided. Pembrokeshire is not an uninhabited Welsh wilderness, which appears to be the view from Whitehall, but a beautiful landscape peopled with vibrant communities very dependent on the tourist economy. Manorbier is a place where people choose to live, bringing up their families and running businesses, thereby contributing to the wealth and future well-being of the county. Others decide to here retire seeking peace, quiet and safety. These are the people who are now extremely worried by the latest development. They are meeting, talking and raising questions in a combined effort to safeguard their future. The levels of 'pollution' at Pendine and Castlemartin, both at sea and on what was once good agricultural land, are examples to all. Residents here do not want further developments which might turn this area of outstanding natural beauty into a wasteland. 6) It is interesting for locals to note that Clr. Calver wrote to the National Park on November 2005, supporting the proposal, without consulting the local community, prior to the public meeting on the matter held on January 5, 2006, and well before the Community Council meeting on January 10. This begs the question, 'on whose behalf did our County Councillor write to the National Park and on whose authority?'. There are many other reasons why the application should be refused, such as its implicit contravention of human rights, but the above will suffice at this stage. My neighbours and I simply wish to live here in peace which surely is not to ask when we reside in a conservation area within a National Park. Or do we?

Pearl and Andrew McCabe, Manorbier.