Sir, - As the county councillor who moved approval of the planning application for an integrated waste management facility at Scorton, I have read your recent correspondence columns with interest.

The letter from the chairman of Rountons Parish Council and his allegation that I broke the spirit of the code of conduct together with his rather sneaky innuendo, "I wonder why", has motivated me to respond.

I serve on the Yorwaste Advisory Steering Group, a consultative group with no decision making powers, and I receive no additional allowances for that duty either from Yorwaste or the county council. I declared my involvement at the meeting.

I was appointed to the planning committee to make decisions on applications on their planning merits, and not to avoid awkward decisions just because vociferous opponents (or supporters) are loud in their claims. There were, in my opinion, no grounds for refusal and the application would undoubtedly have been approved on appeal.

A more pertinent question is why a number of elected members on the committee voted to refuse an application that not only had the clear support of the county council planning officers, but also the inspector who has reviewed the North Yorkshire waste local plan.

County Coun BILL HOULT

Knaresborough.

Poor marketing

Sir, - I refer to the comments made by David Goodwin in the report of the Thirsk Town Council meeting, regarding a letter I had sent to the tourism department of Hambleton District Council (D&S, Sept 20).

Mr Goodwin said: "To focus on one photograph and one sign is a little churlish". The photograph in question, which shows our market place as it was ten years ago, has been used by Hambleton District Council on both the current World of James Herriot leaflet and the accommodation guide 2002; the number of copies of these must run into a thousand, not one.

Furthermore, "the one sign" referred to is actually five large window-type tourist information posters - four in the car park and one in the Sutton Road lay-by and 15 brown kerb-side signs. All of these direct our visitors to the previous site of the tourist information centre, the World of James Herriot, not the new site at 49 Market Place.

I'm sure none of us, if we wished to sell our properties, and leaflets and guides are all about selling, would think it wise to adorn the description leaflet with ten-year-old photography, and lots of us must recall the frustrated feeling of being misdirected in an unfamiliar town.

In my experience over the last 17 years as bed and breakfast owner, I have found that visitors come to my home town 12 months a year, so these problems need to be dealt with quickly.

SUE DODDS

Kirkgate,

Thirsk.

Not too soon

Sir, - This week we received copies of the long awaited proposals for improving the Scotch Corner to Greta Bridge section of the A66 and, as a frequent user of the Melsonby crossroads, the sooner they are implemented the better.

However the present limited proposals will not stop the two drivers my wife and I saw yesterday overtaking over a double white line between Carkin Moor and Stephen Bank (the section not being improved at this stage) - the first overtaking traffic coming towards us as we went from Gilling to Barnard Castle, the second overtaking my wife and I in our car and two or three other cars - all travelling at about 60mph - immediately afterwards, nor will it prevent the kind of accident a couple of months ago when a woman and her young child were injured crossing from the East Layton turning to go to Ravensworth. Surely this stretch of road merits speed cameras.

The sooner the whole of the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith is made dual carriageway the happier those who live near this road will be.

Canon CHRISTOPHER WHITE

Aske,

Richmond.