I AGREE with your correspondent Richard Davison (HAS, June 24). What a disgrace it was that the council's licensing committee should see fit to grant a third sex shop licence in Darlington.

Sadly, as the law stands, the committee is not obliged to take into account moral arguments. However, it also chose to ignore the very strong arguments against the siting of a sex shop in Bondgate on grounds of location.

There are two considerations which must be made in law.

Firstly, that the character of the locality would make it unsuitable for such a shop. This cannot be a suitable location for such a business.

Secondly, that the use to which nearby premises are put makes it unsuitable for siting a sex shop. Bondgate has a range of shops, restaurants and take-aways to which families and children go. There will soon be a doctors' surgery in the former Blacketts pub which will include a rape crisis centre. Bondgate Methodist Church, open for a variety of activities throughout the week, is close by. One of the leading law textbooks says that "premises focusing on sex as adult entertainment are incompatible and therefore inappropriate in close proximity to premises such as churches and chapels which traditionally have recognised sexual activity as appropriate only within the confines of the marital relationship."

Sadly, the committee chose not to exercise its statutory discretion to reject the application.

In so doing, it is sending out the totally wrong message to young people. But it is also causing great offence to the many Christian people in the town and showing great dishonour to the God whom we love. - Chris Prest, Darlington.

SHAME on Darlington Council for being unable to make a 'moral' judgement.

Taking just half an hour to make its decision to allow another sex shop in our town speaks volumes about its state and understanding of morality.

The question of another sex shop is not really the point.

If the councillors cannot make moral judgements should they not resign en masse to make way for a council that can.

To hide behind political correctness, regulations, or the fear that the applicant may appeal must be one of the greatest abrogations of responsibility ever registered.

It begs they question: why are they there? - John West, Darlington.

WELL done to Darlington Borough Council for allowing a licence for a new sex shop in Bondgate.

While objectors class Darlington as "some sort of Soho of the North-East" many people will be delighted at the arrival of the store.

While I do understand the concerns of local residents, all of the other such shops have conducted themselves in a good and proper manner by keeping their in-house displays out of view from the passing public. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

RELIGION

D PUNCHARD (HAS, June 26) makes an interesting point, but surely many of the world's problems stem not from the existence of so many branches of a particular religion nor from the existence of so many religions, but rather from the existence of organised religion.

By this I mean that individual religious beliefs rarely hurt anyone. However, when these become organised into a religion, then the real dangers arise.

This is because doctrine is then held by those who can and have altered and distorted it to suit their own agendas, while, at the same time, people become restricted to archaic doctrines which not only have no relation to present-day realities but which can and have been detrimental to the development of society and the individual, whilst threatening the existence of life on this planet.

For example, under Biblical doctrine, slavery would still be legal and people would be stoned for working on Sunday. The Middle-East threatens to start a third world war, all because of the archaic doctrine that there is only one path to that which we call God. - CT Riley, Spennymoor.

COUNCIL FINANCES

E REYNOLDS (HAS, Jun 22) is missing the point when he asserts that too many people are not paying into the coffers of the council.

The latest rise in council taxes was not about paying the workers their rise, but about the huge sums we are paying towards their pension funds.

While I agree that the council tax is a burden on many, it would be better served if it were scrapped altogether and VAT was increased to compensate for the shortfall. This could be seen as a method of seeing that everyone contributes something.

Also, the Government should be responsible for paying the police, firemen and others so that the inequalities many people see in pay, conditions and pensions can be given some semblance of equality and fairness for all. - John Young, Crook.