MR McMillan's letter in your newspaper last week was the final straw for me as chairman of Malvern Hills Conservators.

I do not think it is appropriate for a publicly- accountable body to conduct its internal arguments through the pages of the local paper, but on the other hand I simply cannot allow two disaffected Conservators, Messrs Masters and McMillan, unhindered free space to continue their campaign of undermining the organisation at every turn.

The Conservators were set up by Act of Parliament in order to make sure the Hills and Commons are preserved in good shape for posterity. The most recent Malvern Hills Act was enacted in 1995 at a cost of around £200,000.

These arrangements specify that all but one of the 29 Conservators must either be elected directly or else appointed by the elected members of local authorities. The intention is to ensure the Conservators have the skills and motivation, as well as the local knowledge and sensitivities, needed to fulfil their objective.

We Conservators do not currently seek to change our 1995 constitution. However, we have made it clear to various parties, including Mr McMillan, that we would be prepared to change if all the other interested parties could agree how. We are also anxious not to be pushed unnecessarily towards another new Malvern Hills Act .

Where Mr McMillan is incorrect is when he states that the Conservators is a "hybrid local authority". It is clearly defined in the Acts as a body corporate - a status which requires Conservators to accept and work to deliver whatever the body of the Conservators decide by majority vote. These decisions are all taken in public, except in personally, commercially or legally sensitive circumstances.

As events at the last Conservators' Board meeting clearly indicated, the rest of the Board and virtually all the paid staff perceive that these two Conservators are not observing this principle of cabinet accountability.

Indeed it is this continual undermining of our director, Ian Rowat, that I find most offensive.

Since his arrival five years ago, Mr Rowat has worked unceasingly to improve the Hills and Commons. He is one of the most respected conservationists in the country. In the last two years he has obtained external grant funding of over £2 million for the Conservators.

We all know and acknowledge that there was recently a regrettable failure to recognise the theft of 56 of our lambs, a loss against which we were fully insured, but this has been blown out of all proportion by those who seek to discredit the Conservators. If Mr Rowat and his dedicated team were eventually to tire of the hassle they receive from these few individuals and to take their talents elsewhere, it would be a grievous loss to this district.

Bryan Smith, chairman, Malvern Hills Conservators.