GRAVE concern must be expressed over revelations in the Advertiser/Messenger that there are proposals to build 60 more houses in the remaining space left as you enter the Oakalls estate.

My husband and I were assured by the construction company, from whom we bought our house in 2001, that this area of land was to be used for a shop and community centre. There was even talk of a nursery. It was explained to us that once the Oakalls was populated by 90 per cent of its residents, then we would all have a voice in expressing what we felt the estate required to meet the needs of people living here.

It is now 2004 and it is quite evident he Oakalls is not meeting the needs of its residents.

It is most noticeable when you walk around the estate that nothing is being done to address maintaining a clean and healthy environment. The brooks are strewn with litter, some areas appear like dumping grounds and are overgrown, walkways are littered with dog mess and grass in public areas is left uncut for long periods of time.

Such communal areas have not been used effectively to provide adequate leisure facilities for the growing number of children and teenagers who live here. We are in dire need of a safe play park.

Such matters are only made to feel worse when we learn that the long awaited building of something to support the community may not happen. Are the needs of the local people to be set aside to fill the pockets of another building contractor?

As you enter the estate there is a large sign advertising it as a 'rural village.' Many people have moved here on the understanding that they can become part of a village community, not just to be on a 'housing estate' where their needs are overlooked.

The families of the Oakalls pay their taxes and we need to be supported like everyone else in Bromsgrove. We need to be provided with services and opportunities to become a lively community. This will not be made possible with the building of yet more houses instead of providing an area where the residents have access to services to meet their needs.

These views very much represent the feeling of other residents.

Mrs Sonya Thomas

Royal Worcester Crescent

The Oakalls

Bromsgrove