MARCH 3 in my diary will always be the day democracy flew out of the North Somerset Council Chamber.

MARCH 3 in my diary will always be the day democracy flew out of the North Somerset Council Chamber.

On this day, against all reasoned argument, Conservative councillors acted against the wishes of the electorate and advice from Members of Parliament, the PCAA, the CPR and other parish councils and voted for the expansion of Bristol Internal Airport into the green belt.

Having heard very few three minute submissions against the expansion, the chairman then determined to prioritise his own opinion and said that he would be voting for the expansion. One would have thought that in dealing with an application of this magnitude this level of debate would have been outstanding, with all the major issues being discussed.

With a few notable exceptions, Deborah Yamanaka being one of them, many councillors failed to grasp the implications of this expansion.

My own district councillor, Mrs Liz Wells, showed absolutely no concern for all the reservations expressed by her parish councils: no concern for the future of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and no concern for the DEFRA report stressing the need for areas of tranquillity.

One speaker, for the expansion, stated that the biggest asset of North Somerset was the airport - or am I being too cynical to think that the countryside, village life, coastal beauty and the people living in the area are our best assets?

I would like to thank John Penrose and Liam Fox for voicing their concerns over the airport expansion and, by the way, any political donation I would have made will now go to the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

STEPHEN HALE

Parish Councillor for Burrington

Lower Langford