General to ponder, we hear, room for manoeuvre (6)
I believe the answer is:
leeway
'room for manoeuvre' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'general to ponder we hear' is the wordplay.
'general' becomes 'lee' (Robert E. Lee - US revolutionary commander).
'to ponder' becomes 'weigh' (I've seen this before).
'we hear' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'weigh' sounds like 'way'.
'lee'+'way'='LEEWAY'
(Other definitions for leeway that I've seen before include "Limited room for manoeuvre" , "Margin of tolerance" , "Room to manoeuvre, latitude" , "Scope for freedom of movement or action" , "Flexibility" .)