Alton Towers protest is so short-sighted

Call me unsympathetic to trees, but have parish councillors on the patch where Alton Towers operates lost their marbles?
If they haven't, perhaps they took one too many turns on the theme-park's Corkscrew ride before it was dismantled last year.
Because some of these parish representatives are apparently opposing plans for a new rollercoaster to replace the iconic yellow one, which was pulled down before Christmas.
Parish council chariman Tony Moult says the scheme will "encroach" on woodland.
Is he mad?
In an ideal world, the trees would be left alone, and residents living near Alton Towers wouldn't be disturbed by this attraction which provides Staffordshire jobs for thousands of people and brings in millions of pounds to the local economy.
But we're not living in an ideal world. We're living in a pretty dismal one at the moment. Just ask the poor workers from Wedgwood, JCB and countless more big business names who have lost their livelihoods.
There's a credit crunch on. No. Let's be honest. We're in recession, and anything that can safeguard jobs, or create new ones, should be welcomed.
I'm all for close-knit communities and people standing up for what they believe in.
But sometimes - as is the case with these whining councillors - you have to forget parochialism and see the bigger picture.