SIR — How sad that our elected MP Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger feels it necessary to distance himself from the district councillors of West Somerset and Taunton Deane who are opposing the decision of the Crown Estate to evict a large number of their residential tenants. They, like him, have been elected and are expressing the views of the communities they serve. He objects to them setting out their concerns in this matter to the Queen and others by "hysterical letter writing" and describes it as " a cheap publicity stunt". It may be helpful to look at the facts of the case. l The Crown Estate, managed by Commissioners, was set up by Parliament under the Crown Estate Act of 1961 for the purpose of managing a portfolio of property with the profits being paid to the treasury. l The value of the property portfolio currently stands at £9.6 billion which last year produced a profit of £276 million. Under the " Sovereign Grant", around 15 per cent of that profit, or roughly £36 million, was used to pay for the Queen's official duties and maintaining the occupied royal palaces. l The Crown Estate Commissioners obviously do not consider a profit of £276 million a sufficient return and so acting in accordance with the Crown Estate Act are prepared to evict a total of 180 tenants and their families from their homes. This is so that they can then be sold off to boost the Treasury coffers by re-investing the proceeds elsewhere. In Dunster's case they are usually bought as second homes to add to the 55 or 60 that already exist in the village. l The Crown Estate has confirmed in writing to Dunster Parish Council that the properties where tenants have been given eviction notices "have been selected on commercial grounds . . . and are increasingly expensive to maintain." This is despite the fact that the tenants have paid their rent, look after and in many cases improve their properties. l Last year £13.3 million of the Sovereign Grant was used to maintain the royal palaces. They are occupied not just by the Queen but other members of her family. To me that begs the question – should the Queen not be aware of the fact that tenants are being evicted from their homes which are described as "expensive to maintain" when £13.3 million is being spent to maintain royal palaces? l Under the Crown Estate Act, "The Commissioners shall comply with such directions as to the discharge of their functions under this act as may be given to them in writing by the Chancellor of the Exchequer - but with due regard to the requirements of good management." Mr. Liddell-Grainger should therefore be telling this Parliament's Chancellor of the Exchequer that in a fair and decent society it is not acceptable, nor the function of the Crown Estate, to evict tenants from their homes in the name of "good management". He describes the situation as "very delicate". It is not very delicate - it is deplorable. He should not be wasting his time talking to the Crown Commissioners who no doubt tell him they are only doing their job. When the chief executive of the Crown Estate, Alison Nimmo, says about the London properties they manage "Our roots are in the West End. We own some of the best real estate in the best city in the world", it indicates where their priorities are. Rural cottages as homes to families are nothing more than a thorn in the Crown Estate's side. Graham Lamacraft, Dunster.