DEAR EDITOR - We are writing to thank you for bringing Bromsgrove District Council's attempt to remove the Norton Farm site from the Green Belt to our notice in your newspaper.

This has enabled local residents to start a campaign to prevent this change.

Obviously, we have selfish reasons for wanting to keep this as a field full of sheep rather than houses, and avoid a new east - west link road across this site. But we also think this raises some important matters for Bromsgrove in general.

This site has twice been adjudicated on by the Government Inspector who has rejected it twice and recently described Bromsgrove District Council as 'having a dogged determination to pursue this ill conceived idea'.

His opinion was that development here would effectively join Bromsgrove to Lickey End, which he strongly advised against.

Fortunately, the council meeting of November 26 referred the matter back to the Executive Committee for reconsideration.

This raises the question of the composition of the six-person Executive. Three of the members have already declared an interest in this matter and the not disassociated matter of potential ADR land in Barnt Green.

That leaves the final decision in very few hands.

The Inspector rejected the ADR request on purely Green Belt issues, although he suggested that building a road connecting the Stourbridge Road and the Birmingham Road would probably just encourage more traffic.

Building on this land would only create more congestion in the Lickey End area at peak times, where the road system already borders on gridlock at the moment.

I hope your newspaper will continue to scrutinise the somewhat opaque workings of the Council and publicise and investigate this important local issue.

Hugh and Julie Revill,

Green Bower Drive,

Bromsgrove.