Sir, - I refer to your front page report about our playing field (D&S County Durham edition, Aug 24).

I cannot believe the rumours are now in black and white. The parish council seems intent on selling off anything it can lay its hands on, turning this once lovely little village where we all knew each other into a place of strangers.

For the most part, the councillors do not live up this end of the village and so most likely think that the playing field is not used.

We must not let the field be used for housing and have the one bit of green taken from us. It is not safe to put a replacement play area behind the water park or even in front of it. How long before they want that for houses and we will lose the water park?.

It is time for this house building to stop and I hope villagers will go to the meeting on Monday (September 10).

We do not have the works that we used to have in the village. Is this initiative a ploy to drive Hadleys out by building houses round the company's premises?

I've heard the new people have complained about the noise and dust from Hadleys. It was there long before they were and they could not have missed the place when they came to buy their houses.

We need work in the village and we need the playing field.

I urge residents to go to the meeting on Monday and stop this awful thing happening.

C NICHOLSON

Killinghall Row,

Middleton-St-George.

Not more CCTV

Sir, -I refer to Sheila Dixon's report about CCTV proposed, incredibly, for the Methodist church in Barnard Castle (D&S, Aug 31).

What on earth will visitors, including those from overseas, think when they see, in a lovely old market town, CCTV cameras on a church?

When will somebody stand up and say enough is enough. Talk about overkill and using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut!

Whilst there may be a case for cameras in problem areas, such as inner city car parks and underpasses, etc., even in these areas their effectiveness is in question.

Where they should manifestly not be used is in a town like Barnard Castle where "crime" is minimal.

The controlling of "unruly youths", (nothing new, surely), should be the responsibility of the parents as soon as identified, and if persistent, the police.

The sooner honest and decent people start to react against the pervasive and baleful influence of these scandalously intrusive items, the better.

J T KING

Snackgate Lane,

Heighington.

Darlington.