It is hardly surprising that a new village society set up in Crossflatts to challenge plans for a large-scale house-building project at Micklethwaite has found its membership booming. Plans for development in this and other parts of Airedale affect a great many people who, because they live in the area, are more aware even than the planners of the detailed ramifications of such schemes.

The people of Crossflatts and Micklethwaite are understandably concerned about the effect that hundreds of new homes will have on the environment in which they have chosen to live. Although the acronym "NIMBY" is often used in a derogatory sense, there is surely nothing wrong with objecting to any development close to your back yard which will adversely affect your quality of life and possibly the value of your property.

In this case, though, the objectors are also able to cite specific safety issues, particularly the hundreds of additional cars which would be travelling through Crossflatts and its surrounding lanes, most of which are narrow. All these cars would also have to cross the canal on their way to and from the proposed Sty Lane development site and would go on to further congest the Aire Valley route.

In addition, there is the impact on local amenities such as schools and health centres to be considered. Too often, it seems, house building is allowed to go ahead with insufficient thought being paid to the infrastructure required to support it.

The people of Crossflatts and Micklethwaite have some very valid points to make in support of their case against this scheme. Their voices deserve to be heard and heeded during the public inquiry into the Council's Unitary Development Plan.