WE write in regard to Mr Somers-Cocks letter in your newspaper on December 19 under the heading ‘Council must fight off homes threat.’ Whilst we share his view that housing development in all villages needs careful consideration we believe that we do need some development to allow our village to continue to prosper, including keeping our shop and post office, our school, our church, our village club and our public houses.

We believe that his criticism of the parish council is unfounded on this subject, and that our parish council are giving careful consideration to the matter of planning for a small development of affordable housing, which they have been doing over a very long period of time.

If Mr Somers-Cocks thinks that galvanised local action is necessary “to hold back the tide of these developments for years” why doesn’t he set up an action group himself ?

Perhaps because he himself has benefitted from living in a property which was builtrecently on an exception site!

(For those readers who don’t know, an exception site is one which may not have been allocated for housing development but which may be suitable for a small scheme of affordable housing to meet identified local needs.

Mr J E Metcalfe and Mrs D R Metcalfe, Cowdown Lane, Goodworth Clatford