THE SIGNS read "Historic Westhoughton welcomes careful drivers". They might as well say "Welcome to Westhoughton - the building developers' goldmine".

Over the centuries the people of Westhoughton have survived Luddite rebellion, civil war and two world wars only to be finally overcome by the most unlikely of enemies, Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council.

It is with much dismay that I hear of plans being considered to develop, what appears to be one of the last areas of greenbelt remaining around the town. The question that springs to mind is not "Why Westhoughton?", but "Why Westhoughton again?".

Surely BMBC must now be aware of local feelings as, during the last decade, every major housing development of this nature has been objected to. As before, the reasons for the objections are quite clear:-

Developers should use brownfield rather than greenfield sites.

The area's wildlife would, once again, be dealt a severe blow.

Areas of local natural beauty would be destroyed.

More houses mean more people, resulting in increased traffic levels and congestion..

More traffic results in increased air and noise pollution.

While I understand that my voice may only be a tiny one, I can only hope that it falls on the ears of someone who appreciates the values of human life rather than the more obvious monetary values involved in this decision.

Mr Warren Barlow

Park Road, Westhoughton

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