I was present at the public meeting last night at Milverton Church.

The officers of the County Council and District Council were listened to at great length as they attempted to state their case but they have not convinced me at all to be in favour of this plan.

1. Green Belt is supposed to be inviolate, except in exceptional circumstances. There are NO exceptional circumstances in this case, particularly as there are white belt sites to the south. These were the proposed development sites in the earlier plan. When the officers at the meeting were asked," What has changed?" they were totally unable to give the meeting a satisfactory reply.
2. The area in question contains prime agricultural land, valuable for food growing .Are we not all supposed to be backing home grown production in these difficult times?

3.The area under threat is much used by local residents for recreational activities. Aren't we supposed to look after and cherish these areas on the borders of urban development or have we learnt nothing from the past?

I am not against further house building in the locality, but I have severe reservations about the accuracy of the estimate of the number of houses needed for the future and certainly where those houses and associate developments should be situated.

We live in a democracy, so I sincerely hope that the planners will rethink their proposals in the light of all the public opinion in this neighbourhood ,the vast majority of which is totally against these proposals.