Sir, - I, along with many others, braved the bitter cold and snow-covered fields on Saturday, February 23, to attend the site meeting and subsequent Stockton council planning meeting regarding the proposed Betty's Close Farm housing development at Ingleby Barwick

Not being a local resident and therefore not directly affected by the proposals I was able to take a slightly detached view of the proceedings.

I listened to the often passionately expressed views by both sides of the argument and could see merit in each. For those not familiar with the situation, Green Wedge land is being sacrificed for the building of 60 houses close to an area where there is already massive housing development planned. The trade off is that the developers would donate land and money towards a country park.

However my overriding impression was that planning officers and councillors, working as they do within severe budgetary constraints, should not be put in the invidious position of having to sacrifice principles for a financial and/or land contribution from commercial developers to a proposed country park.

Most people, including, not unreasonably the local residents, assume that Green Wedge is the same as Green Belt. Presumably when the residents bought their properties they thought their situation was protected for the future. Unfortunately Green Wedge confers no legal protection whatsoever.

It is precisely because of this that it is essential that Green Belt and not Green Wedge status is awarded to the river valley and the other Green Wedge designated areas.

Otherwise the "salami slicing" that has occurred over the years with Green Wedge - "a bit here, a bit there" will continue in the future. Once development takes place it is normally impossible to reverse and the opportunity to create a coherent whole is lost forever.

Write to your local MP and to your councillor asking them to support a change from Green Wedge to Green Belt so that your countryside is properly protected for the future.

Teesside as a whole does not have such an overabundance of areas of outstanding natural beauty that it can afford to throw away those that should be protected.

NORMAN F DOUGLAS

Ashville Avenue,

Eaglescliffe,

Stockton-on-Tees.

Metric maze

Sir, - With regard to the "Metric Martyrs" and the fiasco over the attempts made by trading standards departments to turn shopping trips into stressful precise science affairs in enforcing the adoption of half-baked metrication system can someone explain why:

l some milk bottles are marked: 2 pints = 1.136 litres, others 2 pints = 1.14 litres, and again 1 pint = 586ml.

l pizzas are delivered in boxes marked 10 inch.

l birth announcements nearly always inform us that baby blue eyes weighed in at 7lb 6oz or whatever.

l eggs are sold in sixes and dozens and what determines whether they are large, medium or small.

For pity's sake, give traders and customers credit for knowing what they are doing without the need for computers and micrometers to decide what is wanted.

After all metric standards have been used by trade, industry and the Armed Forces along with Imperial standards since Adam was a lad, but of course, they were true metric, not this "round it up to the nearest inch" conversion garbage which the 0.5 wits are trying to foist on us today.

RON F ASHBRIDGE

Lyons Road,

Richmond.

Euro nightmare

Sir, - May I add to S Matthews' comments (D&S, Mar 1), by quoting from a letter sent to us by a friend in Germany (Bad Heilbrunn, Bavaria).

She says: "The changing into Euro made so much things more expensive! The income not." So she may not be able to come and see us this summer after all.

Who says the Euro is going to help international relations? All changes in currency - for example decimalisation - operate to the detriment of the ordinary citizen. When you add to this the fact that the Euro is a politically-generated currency, and therefore economically unsustainable, you may see that we will be far better off having nothing to do with it.

ADRIAN D BULL

Linthorpe,

Middlesbrough.

Plan withdrawn

Sir, - I would like to advise that Palmer Management Services will not be developing the former sawmill and bungalow at Spennithorne, Leyburn Wenslydale, into six houses as reported in last week's D&S.

Palmer Management have now withdrawn their planning application as they felt that the costs of solving some of the problems inherent in this site were unacceptably high.

BRIAN PALMER

Wensley,

Leyburn.