AS a parish councillor who has served for long periods, firstly in Barley and then in Bassingbourn, I understand well the irritation Councillor Lynda Needham must feel at having questioned what she may have thought were well reasoned decisions on her part

AS a parish councillor who has served for long periods, firstly in Barley and then in Bassingbourn, I understand well the irritation Councillor Lynda Needham must feel at having questioned what she may have thought were well reasoned decisions on her part.

However, I was not aware that geographical location might disqualify Terry Hutt and myself from having an opinion on a matter that is important to people who live in all the villages around Royston.

I would be the first to concede that South Cambridgeshire District Council may have some faults, but failing to provide toilets in what is a completely rural district apart from Cambourne (where virtually the only available shop is Morrisons where there is one), is irrelevant as North Herts villages do not have any either.

From all these villages people who have no choice but to use the bus service or park on The Warren car park to save walking far, find the bus station toilet invaluable.

The unsatisfactory state of the toilets is hardly the fault of the naughty people from Cambridgeshire who come creeping across the border, bringing their spending power to help the shopkeepers and stallholders survive.

Or perhaps Cllr Needham would prefer that they all went to Tesco, which, of course, does have a toilet. That would save having to provide any at all?

The fact that Letchworth and Hitchin are so poorly provided for in the toilet stakes is not, I would have thought, a matter for self- congratulation.

As a builder, I would be most interested to know what is proposed and how the costings are justified.

I cannot help wondering if it would be far more cost efficient to do the alteration work that looks to me relatively simple rather than what sounds like a massive rebuild, the cost of which would leave the community worse served than at present.

I have lived for 54 years of my life in North Hertfordshire, being born in Letchworth and have lived in the Royston area since 1961.

I know the needs of this small market town as well as most, as does my wife, who came from Reed. It does appear that Cllr Needham, viewing Royston from her home in Letchworth, is looking with urban eyes at a rural problem and appears to have completely failed to understand the needs of Royston.

I await my enlightenment with interest.

Cllr JACK WHITE

Bassingbourn Parish Council

MAY I reply to Councillor Lynda Needham's comments (Postbag, November 16) about Bill Davidson's U-turn on Royston's bus station public toilets.

Perhaps Mr Davidson has listened to the public that a councillor should represent, and done a count to see how much the toilets used and, therefore, changed his mind.

Not all councillors work for the public - some seem to work for North Herts District Council.

May I also point out there are many issues that require a U-turn across North Herts to improve the area.

Cllr Needham stated that Royston is not the poor relation of the district council, but if you speak to the people who have lived here a long time they will say that it has gone downhill year-by-year.

Cllr Needham criticised Terry Hutt because he lived outside North Herts, but like many others he spends money to come to Royston more than two-days-a-week.

I note that Cllr Needham is the portfolio holder for waste and recycling, so is the glass and paper collections self-supporting or are the vehicles and operators paid out of the council tax?

DEREK EMBLEM

Green Street

Royston