I would just like to make quite clear that The Bolton News article about the opening hours of a takeaway on Halliwell Road is very misleading. (“Split over takeaway opening hours plan”, November 6).

It gives the impression that the planning committee is political. The council’s planning committee is a non-political committee which does not whip its members into voting any particular way whatsoever.

Members of the committee view each and every planning application based on merit and then come to their own judgement on the application. More often than not, the votes can be very mixed when members are split on a particular proposal.

The current committee is made up of 20 members of different political groups, nine Labour, eight Conservative and three Liberal, based on a percentage ratio of members of the council.

Councillor Sean Hornby, Chairman of Planning and Highways, Bolton Council