Sir – I am not talking about a housing estate or a new road but about a very small area of almost unspoiled woodland in our parish of North Hinksey, nestled between houses.

The paths are muddy after rain and slippery but there are many roots which form natural steps and enough undergrowth to give walkers purchase. There is therefore no need to build stone paths.

However, our local parish council want to do just that. There is a groundswell of local opinion that we should leave well alone, 137 signatures on a petition, no less! Of these there are half a dozen vocal mouthpieces of whom I am one.

We have been called troublemakers and a nuisance and labelled nimbys by our elected councillors.

We elected our parish councillors to represent us, but now feel unrepresented, and indeed excluded, from discussions about an area we know and love.

Any consultations which have taken place have been hard won. I wonder if your readers have similar experiences of being ridden over roughshod by their parish or village councils?

Ombudsmen deal with district and more elevated councils, but there seem few functioning checks and balances for parish councillors which are not cumbersome, requiring an outlay in time and sometimes money.

Elections are widely spaced. Why is there no parish council ombudsman? What hope have we that a [new] government will listen to us if we cannot be heard by our local government?

Niki Carter, North Hinksey