Am I the only Gazette reader and Halstead resident who is confused by the conflicting articles that have been in the paper over the last few months?

I have lived in this town for more than 22 years and during that time we have seen thousands of new homes in and around the town.

The paper continues to inform us of new developments that have been proposed, enlarging the town way beyond its capacity.

All the town’s facilities are bursting at the seams, there are no doctors’ appointments, not enough school places with no plans to inject money to improve the situation, and parking has become such an issue it has become unsafe to even drive around the town.

I attended a council meeting concerning the proposed housing on Sudbury Road where one of the concerns raised was the amount of traffic that would be added to the roads, especially during term time when parents are taking their children to school.

But we were told the highways department saw “no potential problem”.

If that is so, why is it I have now read two articles in the paper in recent months covering the congestion on the high street and the concerns this has raised with the council.

Half the proposed housing hasn’t even been built yet.

The congestion is caused by building too many new houses, in a small town, in an area where the roads and have not been built for such high levels of traffic, and it is only going to get worse.

When is the council going to realise that?

Can someone tell me how many houses have been built over the last 22 years? Surely we have reached our quota?

Slowly but surely, a beautiful town is being destroyed and its residents subjected to untold stress.

L Stenner

Halstead