Sir, The demolition of three of Didcot Power Station’s famous cooling towers on Sunday was a very significant event for the residents of Oxfordshire.

Different people will have different feelings about it. Some people detest the towers, others will be sad at their loss, others may simply find it strange that such prominent landmarks have gone.

Many local people will remember the three-year campaign which the communities of Abingdon and Radley, led by the Save Radley Lakes group, fought to prevent the beautiful Thrupp Lake at Radley from being destroyed to make a dump for coal ash from the power station.

That campaign ended in December 2008 with the lake being saved. Since then, the power station has closed (that happened in March 2013) and now it is being demolished. Meanwhile, Thrupp Lake, with all its wonderful wildlife, is still there for local people and visitors to enjoy in perpetuity. A wider lesson can be drawn from this. Our environment, our wildlife and our local green spaces are greatly valued and valuable; and, once destroyed, they are not easily replaced.

Thrupp Lake could so easily have been lost forever, filled with ash from a power station which had only a few years left to run. The fact that it was saved is a credit to all concerned.

Soon, the power station will be just a memory, but Thrupp Lake endures: a powerful reminder that our precious environment should never be sacrificed simply to meet short-term needs.

Roger Thomas

Chairman

Friends of Radley Lakes