I ATTENDED the recent public meeting with the town councillors regarding the Lee Hall saga. I was pleased to find the chamber much more full than last time (December 11). This shows that public feeling against the development is gaining momentum as its implications are realised.

If, God forbid, this development were to go ahead, we, hundreds of miles from idyllic Petersfield, will see our beloved Westhoughton become a concrete jungle with gridlocked roads. The roads are stretched to over capacity as it is.

A case in point. I was leafletting with friends at Daisy Hill recently, and saw the result created by the Redrow Roundabout at Lower Leigh Road. Even that development, yet unfinished, has caused a nightmare situation at Daisy Hill, with long tailbacks at peak periods. There have already been accidents since the roundabout was built. If further large scale developments go ahead, the existing houses may be devalued due to an extra glut of new properties. There are many Westhoughton houses on the market, not selling as it is.

There has been gloom and despondency among certain Westhoughton people who think it is futile to fight on, but on the whole they are warming to the idea that the developers can be beaten. Our petitioning is still ongoing, as thousands have signed. Those few who haven't are, in effect, colluding with the developers.

B Howarth

Alexandria Drive, Westhoughton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.