THESE new gypsy site proposals seem bizarre. The Government s own guidelines state that any such sites must have access to good services, strong public transport links, easy access to local roads and avoid excessively impacting the character and people of

THESE new gypsy site proposals seem bizarre.

The Government's own guidelines state that any such sites must have access to good services, strong public transport links, easy access to local roads and avoid excessively impacting the character and people of existing settled communities.

Two of the sites are in Barkway which has no shops, no post office, negligible public transport, limited road access to the sites proposed, and is a conservation area in a village whose small number of residents will clearly be impacted significantly by an influx of a new travelling community.

The council clearly need to think again.

NAME and ADDRESS SUPPLIED

THE report in The Crow (October 11) that says the residents of those areas mentioned as possible locations for traveller's sites will be "alight with worry" is no doubt accurate.

I expect that there will be campaigns and protests organised by those communities that now feel threatened, and even feelings of anger felt by those communities that finally have these traveller's sites imposed upon them.

Even though the public is still allowed to organise protests and campaign against those policies which cause concern, such as massive and uncontrolled immigration, the over-development of the south-east, local airports expansion and the rest, such protests and campaigns will in no way prevent the imposition of such policies,

This is because our democracy (both local and national) has been greatly reduced and is destined to continue to be reduced.

As was pointed out, the members of the East of England Regional Authority are not elected to that body, and are not answerable to the electorate.

Therefore the EERA is non-democratic.

Even our national government is required to obey the EU Directives which are imposed on us by the unelected and undemocratic EU Commission.

This means that although individual MPs and local councillors may pay the price for the imposition of unpopular policies, the policies themselves will still be imposed.

We cannot have it both ways.

While we remain complacent about Britain's continued membership of the EU we must all recognise that we have no democratic control over those bodies which have the power to dictate the conditions under which we live.

M R HUTCHINS

Ackroyd Road

Royston

I HAVE just read the news about potential travellers sites including on land south of Notley Green.

Subject to exactly where they mean all that is there are fields. No services, no facilities and small roads unsuitable for caravans.

As Council Tax payers we have paid for somebody to come up with this suggestion. Somehow I don't think it was money well spent.

P A ROBERTS e-mail