MOST villages have to fight hard to hang on to services and facilities and even harder to attract new ones.

All credit then to the folk of Middleton Tyas who have worked so hard to gain the necessary permissions and finance to build a sports area for the village.

Sadly, their work may be undermined by a group of residents opposed to the creation of this sports area in its most logical location - near the school and the village hall. They want it built further away from village homes and are prepared to spend money to win the battle. The newly-formed residents' association has already engaged the services of an architect to redesign the scheme on a neighbouring field. It is also seeking a judicial review of the original planning decision to site the sports area on land next to the school. The residents' association is clearly well-funded.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the argument, it is a shame the scheme is threatened by the residents' association's move.

It appears that some people's design to keep their village a quiet haven undisturbed by the activities of younger people is getting the better of them. Viable villages depend on young people and the plan for a floodlit multi-use games area is an excellent scheme to provide the use of Middleton Tyas with legitimate and entirely healthy outlets for their natural exuberance.

Surely it is far better to have them burning off energy playing sports than less socially desirable behaviour which we suspect members of the residents' association would find far more unacceptable.