Is it any surprise that the piece mentions that the area is in the top 10 per cent of deprived areas in the country and in another the "menace of low level crime" that exists there? These two things go hand in hand unfortunately.

What would help significantly is a regeneration plan (as needed as any town centre version) to modernise what is a 1970s project gone into decay.

It speaks volumes that two of the main facilities on the estate are a bookmakers and a dilapidated ugly pub, while the old adventure playground for kids has sat empty for years.

How can you foster any sort of community spirit when the residents feel like they are left in the "Wild East" while their estate is falling apart around them? What's to be proud of?
Tom Reed,
Adelaide Terrace, Barrack Road, Northampton.

New homes will make road worse
I am a resident of Boothville, Northampton, and I am writing about the proposed development of 108 new homes at the end of our already congested road.

We are aware that Northampton needs new homes but to propose a development here will not only cause disruption to the residents but also to local people and business in the areas.

You only have to be travelling in Booth Rise in the mornings and evenings to see the congestion that already exists. In the rush hour, cars queue between the two roundabouts, causing frustration among users.

The road has already seen an increase of traffic with the development of Manfield Hospital site and the Parklands estate, Mawsley village and the increased development of Moulton Park over the years. This road can not take any more and for residents it is causing their quality of life to diminish.

The second issue is that the development would not be in keeping with the area as they want to build two and three storey homes in an area which has predominantly bungalows.

The third issue is local services. Where are the children going to go as local primary schools are also overcrowded?

The residents of Boothville were quoted in the plans as being happy with the proposal. However, at a recent meeting this was not the true feelings of the residents as the overall vote by the majority at the meeting was to object.

The residents need support as we are a street of just 70 houses. We need those who use the road on a regular basis to object to the plans.

We have only to September 23 to put our objections forward.
Tracey and Shaun O'Neill,
Booth Rise, Northampton.

Now we have six planning bodies
At the last meeting of Northampton Borough Council, I used my solitary vote to oppose the combined support of the Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Labour parties for the appointment of councillors to yet another new planning committee being set up for West Northamptonshire.

That now makes it six planning bodies overseeing the geographically challenged populations of Northampton, Daventry District and South Northants (NBC, DDC, SNC, NCC, WNDC and the new formed WNJPC, West Northamptonshire Joint Planning Committee).

This latest cog in a planning wheel that stopped turning long ago was first proposed to council by the Liberal Democrat administration during the budget round of February 2008, but they didn't bother telling the public about it in their budget consultation leaflets, despite it being the largest growth item in the budget at a total cost of £1.3m and they didn't exactly shout from the rooftops that they were also giving up the town's strategic planning powers (decisions on where houses, offices, shops etc are located).

The new body will have a total of 12 members, four from the borough with a population of over 200,000 and eight members from South Northants, Daventry District and the county council representing the remaining population of West Northamptonshire approx 160,000.

The new committee will make all the strategic decisions on the placement of new homes within the area.

Given the history and location of Grange Park and Buckton Fields we can only but guess where the majority of members on this new committee will choose to place any additional houses.

What this means as a council tax payer in Northampton is that you are now paying twice as much money for having half as much say on the future of your town, and that planning decisions that will affect Northampton for decades to come will now be taken by councillors that you have not elected.

Both the Liberal Democrats (who get the four Northampton seats) and the Conservative Party (which takes the eight seats outside of the borough) try to blame the current government for "imposing" the new committee on them, while at the same time not raising as much as a finger in protest, leading me and others to think that their dissent has been silenced by places at the table and their desire for power.

Throughout this shoddy process the Labour Group members at the Guildhall (no seats on the new committee but the right to send an observer!) have sat on their hands and not raised even a whisper of discontent at the plans, preferring simply to nod through both the expenditure and agreement to our local democracy being further eroded.

I just hope that the few councillors from all three parties who have privately said to me "Tony we agree with you but we have been told to toe the line" will at some point pluck up the courage to speak for the people who voted them in, rather than continue to put their party interest before their duty to the town.
Councillor Tony Clarke,
Independent, Castle Ward, Northampton Borough Council.

Go and look for something to do
I'm fed up with teenagers saying that they have nothing to do.

When they are in trouble, the parents come out with the same cliche instead of taking some responsibility.

It's just an excuse for bad behaviour.

I spent my teenage years in the 1950s. My mother was a single parent with three children. We had very little money, we didn't even have a television but we found plenty to do.

I played cricket and football and got on my bike and rode round some of Northampton's idyllic villages.

I went to a youth club and I was also in a youth organisation which led to many competitions and numerous interests.

I collected stamps and cigarette cards, I went train spotting.

When I was 18 I went into the army to do my National Service and I came out a much more mature person and I learnt to respect other people.

There is much more to do today as there is a much wider range of sporting clubs with proper coaches.

There are hundreds of interests and pastimes.

I look at our Olympians; look what they have achieved and many from working class backgrounds.

They have put the effort in and found great success.

Our Paralympians don't shout "I've got nothing to do".

They put many of us to shame.

I know it is only a minority of teenagers, but it seems to be getting bigger.

It is no good hanging around waiting for something to drop into your lap, do what I did and go and look for it. If they are too lazy to do that then shame on them.

I really feel for their future.
Michael Gadsden,
Hastings Road, Kingsthorpe, Northampton.

Key to the town's misfortunes
Reports in the Chron and letters on the Viewpoint pages keep telling us how our market is failing and shops in the town centre area are all failing and closing.

In other words our town is failing.

Surely for our town to fail there has to be a reason. I notice the Chron keeps printing plans for the future for a better Northampton and think the council must look back into the past and find out what is causing or caused our town to fail.

If we do not find the fault then we cannot go forward.

If the council looks into this, they might find what is taking money from our pockets and what stops the public coming into our town centre shops.

The reasons, I believe, are speed cameras and parking meters.

People are scared of getting caught by the cameras and on-street parking fees have just gone up from 80p to £1.

When the borough council ran them, it only had expenses for itself.

Now the borough, which owns the ground, plus the county council plus NCP all take a cut, instead of one.

The borough council should run Northampton and let the county council run the county beyond our boundaries.

Corby has just spent £31 million building a new town centre, a race track, a new swimming pool, all those new housing estates, all built in the last eight years, while we have gone mad in Northampton with speed cameras, on-street parking fees and CCTV cameras.

Wellingborough, Kettering, Daventry, Towcester, all with little or no speed cameras, or on-street parking fees, are all expanding and going forward.

Northampton is going backwards.

Does our electronic town work?
N R Sharp,
King Edward Road, Abington, Northampton.

Barn owl news
This has not been a very good breeding season for the barn owls.

They are breeding later and the broods are a bit smaller.

This wet weather is not good news for the owls as on wet nights hunting is difficult for them.

Please, if anyone has news of barn owls, finds one or sees one, then I would be interested.

My area is The Harlestones, The Bramptons, East Haddon, West Haddon, Great Brington, Flore, Harpole, Brockhall and Guilsborough.
Maureen Basford,
South Midlands Barn Owl Conservation Group, Harlestone Road, Northampton.
Tel: 01604 751208.