THE South East Develop-ment Agency (Seeda) has given the go-ahead in Southampton for a vast tonnage of laminated plastic to be formed into thousands of new vessels for the super rich. This will add to the millions of tonnes already strewn around our precious coast.

Almost all of it will end up in landfill sites, paid for by the council tax. Or, even worse, dumped in our seas.

Laminated plastic in all its forms is not biodegradable; it will not rot or decay once it has been moulded. It is there for our grandchildren's grandchildren to deal with.

Very few of these boats, once sold to the well-heeled, will be used more than a few weeks in the year. They pile up in every spare inch of our rivers and along our coast, making fortunes for those who can obtain planning from blinkered councils.

Already, we have a problem on our hands, probably as devastating for future generations as global warming, but unlike the warming of the atmosphere, this problem could be halted in its infancy. Some hope with a quango like Seeda.

Take the cash now and leave the mess for generations not yet born to handle. If it were not so serious it would be laughable; we council taxpayers sort our rubbish, taking out plastic bottles and paper, doing our bit to stop landfill sites overflowing, while our piffling little attempt at conservation is blasted to pieces by greed and shortsightedness.

JOHN COOK, Southampton.