The land is not just on a floodplain, it is a floodplain.

Being situated in the valley it gets all the run off from Dallington Heath and Welford Road. The only building suitable for the area would be an Ark.

If planning permission were ever to be given for this scheme then we may well as let the developers build in the river.

Has the councillor never seen the meadows in the depths of winter under several feet of water and not just occasionally but every year?

No it should be left as it was intended originally, a wildlife area.

We need more green areas within the town borders, not fewer.
Doug Buckle,
Kentstone Close, Northampton.

Keep it green!
A "LANDMARK" mosque is needed for Northampton's Muslim community, Councillor Choudary states in the C&E (Businessman who sealed deal on NN2 site reveals dream, September 16).

Who is this anonymous businessman? I have an idea, but it would be "inappropriate" for me to say.

Kingsthorpe residents have another, harder, fight this time to keep this land for what they wanted it for and be kept green, not built on. Good luck to them.

Considering it is on a floodplain, the Muslims would certainly have their wash room!
Mrs D Higgs,
Queen Eleanor Road, Far Cotton, Northampton.

Litter criticism is unfair to council
I refer to your article about litter (Chronicle & Echo, September 17).

The report published by Government shows that, on most environmental issues that this council is responsible for, standards are good.

By that they mean that there is an insignificant level of graffiti, fly-tipping or fly-posting. They describe cleansing standards as "unsatisfactory" – just slightly so.

This is the same as all other councils in the county with the sole exception of East Northants District who are considered "satisfactory".

The report does not say that the council is "failing to cope" nor does it say that these services are "poor".

The condition of litter bins in Northampton was not judged to be "poor".

The survey did not look at borough council maintained spaces in Northampton, it looked at all landscaped areas across the town, even if the council does not have responsibility for them.

The report also included many things that the county council is responsible for and your report referred to these as if they are Borough responsibilities.

The council is improving.

It is the clear intent of everyone involved in the council that services will continue to get better.

There is much to do, but in this case I think we have the right to feel that on this occasion you have not represented the position fairly and with balance.
David Kennedy, chief executive,
Northampton Borough Council

Cruel Aufona? Jim's in charge
How cruel of Aufona to speculate on the fate of Councillor Jim Harker (Viewpoint, September 10).

Of course, everything is Labour's fault

After all, Jim's only been in charge of Northamptonshire County Council for three-and-a-half years, in which time the Tories have reduced adult social services to one star and failing, decimated the youth service, presided over failing schools, hiked up charges for home care, made it harder to get help at home, wasted nearly £200,000 on failing to privatise meals on wheels, wasted even more on trying and failing to sell off the country parks and failed to sell off surplus school land to fund the new schools programme.

In addition, Jim's Tory cabinet embarked on a wholesale reorganisation that had to be abandoned and replaced by the current restructuring plans – exercises which have seen some £32million wasted on consultants – which have left staff demoralised and bewildered.

Imagine what it has done to the council tax payers.

Now we find that almost six months into the current financial year, the Tories have still to produce accurate figures on the council's current financial status, except that they seem to be heading for a £10 million revenue overspend, have a £22.5 million hole in their capital spending programme and are looking to borrow some £44 million temporarily to tide them over.

Still, that's nothing to do with Councillor Harker, after all he's only in charge.

And as for blaming the Peter Gould fiasco on Labour, the Tories were fully engaged in the appointment – as is usual with senior officers – but it was the Tories who dealt with his departure, which came about, readers may recall, after they tried and failed to force their borough and district colleagues to vote for their own abolition.

If Councillor Harker is demoralised, just think what it must be like for those in need of the services that his administration has cut to the bone.

And if you need any further evidence, how about the recent admission by the architect of the Tories' first budget – the budget that cut care for the disabled – Councillor Binley, that he was not aware of how many people with disabilities and how many carers there were in Northamptonshire.

Far from giving Councillor Harker a "new mandate" in the council elections next year, it would be an act of kindness to relieve him of the burden of office, if only to give him time to grow a thicker skin.

If you can't stand the heat, Jim . . .
Councillor John McGhee,
Leader of the Opposition, Northamptonshire County Council.

Flood risk could be increased
In response to your article regarding flooding on Collingtree Park Golf Course and the impending development in the area by Bovis, as a resident of East Hunsbury who lives on the edge of the golf course, I am extremely concerned.

Water run off from a site of this magnitude would have to be very carefully managed to avoid an increase in flood risk which could endanger many homes in the area.

I am also extremely concerned about the traffic problems associated with this development.

Both access roads are to connect to Rowtree Road in East Hunsbury which is already under pressure at peak times.

Traffic from an additional 2,000 homes will cause chaos on the existing housing estate unless radical changes are made to the junctions at both ends of Rowtree Road to improve traffic flow.
Mr C Power,
Collingcroft Close, East Hunsbury, Northampton.