THE pressure on the leadership of Richmondshire District Council over the planned move of its headquarters to Colburn has continued to grow.

The strength of feeling in Richmond is almost unprecedented. If correspondence sent to a local newspaper can be considered a valid indicator of public opinion, the number of letters received here is telling testimony to what the town thinks. The letters on this subject published opposite are just a selection.

A number of the letters contain suggestions and allegations which do no credit to those who write them and are clearly tosh, but they are a measure of how this matter has gripped the town.

The issue is rapidly turning into a public relations disaster for the district council. Those opposed to the council's plans have made all the running and the authority has been on the back foot from the start. Two weeks ago we suggested that the council needed to answer a number of questions relating to its plans, in order to inform debate. This it has failed to do.

This week the Darlington & Stockton Times has formally approached the council leadership and offered it the opportunity to explain, at greater length than our usual limit for a Letter to the Editor, the rationale for the move, the options for funding it and what other options might be examined.

The council leadership this week seemed to want to put a lid on the debate for a few weeks in the hope, perhaps, that feelings will cool. That hope is nave, we would suggest. The council needs to be seen to be making an effort to communicate its ideas more effectively than it has to date. The Darlington & Stockton Times is happy to assist