In last week’s Gazette, R G Richmond was sceptical about the value of producing a Neighbourhood Plan.

He is probably right to have a degree of scepticism about how much control the powers-that-be will be willing to allow us mere mortals.

Probably, the amount of work that has to be done to prepare a plan demonstrates that they don’t want you to do it.

Nevertheless, the Localism Act says that production of a Neighbourhood Plan will give some control.

It is a big act of faith to believe the words and prepare it but it is an absolute certainty that doing nothing will hand the developers the right to continue unabated.

Surely it’s worth a try?

In response to the final letter, I have to agree the representatives of Halstead Residents’ Association’s belief that voting for garden villages will encourage all the builders to go elsewhere to be naive at the very least and lazy at worst.

Halstead needs a plan in order to have some say in its own future. It isn’t an either/or choice, it’s both if you don’t do the plan.

I would also ask those representatives where they think all the people who will live in the garden developments will go? Traffic flows will continue to increase.

Robert Cook

Earls Colne