Sir, - I refer to the Gainford Parish Council report "Hall fund fears" (D&S October 11), which, if the proceedings were reported correctly, seems to suggest a lack of understanding regarding the Montalbo Village Hall and Recreational Charity (Gainford Village Hall) financial situation.

In the October issue of the Parish News I attempted to, very briefly. explain the restructuring of the county annual grant and the strong possibility that in future annual grants will not be awarded.

Even without the loss or reduction of the Durham County Council grant, increases in the hire fees would still have been necessary to counter the rising cost of fuel oil, electricity and insurance etc.

Since the article appeared in the Parish News, the charity has received the promised (£1,175) 5/12ths of the DCC grant but there is still no indication of when or if the remainder will be paid.

In view of the developing financial. situation I wrote to the parish council asking if it could consider the possibility of making future annual donations to assist with the general running costs of the charity's facilities.

I can only assume, for there was no mention of it in the D&S report, that the debate was considering this request.

In my letter I also drew attention to the fact that all village-based charities have benefited from the free use of the premises for meetings (the parish council being included in this) and a 50pc reduction of rates for fundraising events, a policy that may well have to be abandoned when the new system of financing community centres is up and running.

It appears that the meeting then discussed competition with and comparisons of other village halls, such as Winston and Ingleton, which hardly seems relevant.

Gainford Village Hall complex belongs to the community, it is managed by members of the community for the benefit of all in the parish. By all means if it can be managed better then let us do so, but it is not a matter of competition.

As for comparisons, how can we compare a building over a hundred years old with one purpose-built a few years ago; or one which is capable (as ours did recently) of simultaneously accommodating a Teesdale District Council public meeting, a Riverside Trust meeting, Tai-Chi, yoga, snooker, and drama club rehearsals, with one which is very nice but much smaller.

In conclusion may I suggest that next month the parish council seriously debates the possibility of it making an annual payment to assist with the running costs of the village hall complex which might well have to be funded by an increased precept.

BRIAN BLACKBURN

Secretary, Montalbo Village Hall & Recreational Charity

Balmer Hill,

Gainford.

Lessons to learn

Sir, - Some time ago I wrote to your newspaper with a plea to the Government to conduct a public inquiry into the foot-and-mouth epidemic which has caused so much hardship. People engaged in agriculture and tourism should be able to rely on their own Government to be open about mistakes which were made, so that it will not happen again.

I asked the two MPs whose constituencies cover Redcar and Cleveland to support this request. Neither of them did, despite the great number of their constituents who depend on the rural economy,

Now, Martin Callanan, the Conservative MEP for this area, has been instrumental in persuading the European Parliament to implement a full inquiry.

This should ensure that lessons are learned and that future catastrophes are not allowed to bring so many people so much misery.

VALERIE HALTON

Conservative councillor,

Guisborough.

Waste recycling

Sir, - Perhaps the council in Darlington hasn't noticed but a private organisation named Treesavers have been collecting old newspapers, periodicals, cardboard etc from outside houses and other premises.

This is because some people save it and put it into carrier bags and place it outside their houses. This has been carried out for some time now, saving in-fill sites from tons of extra waste, and saving refuse collectors extra work.

The people who are re-cycling now see the ones who will re-cycle when the council implements its new policies. Other councils provide wheelie bins and containers to put cans and glass in. They do not have refuse collectors opening bin bags to see if there is any garden rubbish in them.

They could also organise road cleaning gangs to sweep paths, roads and gutters and leave the rubbish to be collected by refuse collectors. At one time people cleaned their own paths and gutters, these days they seem to kick it away for others to deal with.

JOHN A BARR

Brinkburn Road,

Darlington