Further to the correspondence about Tarmac's planning application in Horstead, could I thank all the people who have approached me with offers of help (perhaps because my property is adjacent to the proposed site, or perhaps because I wrote one of the original articles about it in the Marlpit - we have formed no specific 'action group'), and also to those who have written objections to County Hall and displayed signs against the proposal. I particularly admire and thank the businesses who have seen fit to stand and be counted. Many many thanks.

People may not realise that we still have 'until the Autumn' to send objections in, and I am writing to ask all of you who do not wish to see Horstead (and Coltishall, after all we are 'twin villages' and many of our facilities are shared) spoiled in this way to send in a letter, however short, to make their feelings known. Petitions, however lengthy, only count as one objection, and a flood of individual notes are MUCH more powerful, and contrary to some people's beliefs , are listened to. You do not have to be very literary, or even type the letters as a handwritten plea from the heart is just as, if not more, strong. It is the fact that you care enough to write that counts. Some applications have been turned down on as few as 86 letters, which is not many in a community of our size.

Do not think that large organisations win whatever we say. At Billingford, near Dereham, the local community defeated RMC Aggregates even after a four day appeal, saying that the development would ruin open countryside and destroy efforts to promote tourism, just as they will here.

In a recent plea to stop a mineral extraction, the local community was complaining about an increase of 16 lorries a day in their area. We will have 150 - surely a totally unacceptable amount. The site proposed is gigantic, 250 acres, and will swallow up all this now open countryside.

We will all be affected when we go to Norwich, to hospital, to work, shopping, for a day out. They will work from 7 in the morning to 6 at night, covering both rush hours, and when Wroxham Bridge is closed all their traffic will be added to this chaos also. There are several new developments on the B1150 to Norwich Road, including almost 400 houses at White Woman Lane, also adding to the traffic load and WE DO NOT WANT THIS ADDITION OF TARMAC'S. They say they will work on Bank Holidays and Sundays only 'in emergencies'. I wonder what this means? Emergency for whom? I am not impressed. Don't forget too that approximately 10% of the traffic will move away from the site to the North, i.e. through the villages. Which way? Over the bridge? Along the road to Wroxham? Round Hautbois corner? The traffic flow through is already congested and unacceptable. We cannot tolerate more and heavy goods vehicles at that.

This year Broadland is being promoted actively by the Tourist Board as a good place to holiday, which we would agree with, and therefore we do not want the beginning of it (and after all Horstead Mill site is at the head of navigable water and after the Mill Project very well used by countryside lovers) to be blighted by a large hole and the complementary traffic, dust, pollution etc. People visit my b&b and Caravan Club site and then buy their newspapers and snacks, petrol, meals, etc, etc in the villages. It adds to the economy for all. They hire canoes, buy ice creams, enjoy themselves. This must be allowed to continue. The CPRE (Council for Protection of Rural England) has sent in a very strong letter of objection to County Hall, so we do have some very strong support.

I am very passionate about this issue, not only because of personal and business reasons, but for our area. Many of you have lived here all your lives, presumably because of what the area is like. Many of you have moved here more recently, again, because you liked what you saw. We must keep this, and we must allow part of England to remain 'real' countryside. I moved to Horstead 25 years ago to run the village shop and bakery with my parents and brother, then moved into farming with my husband and subsequently diversified into tourism with the collapse of agricultural livings. I love this area, as does my daughter, Emily (15) happily at school in Norwich and equally passionately not wanting her home and village spoiled. We offer what we own of the land to other people to share, whether by visiting us for holidays, or by keeping their horses with us. All of our horse owners live in Norwich and this is a way for them to visit and use the countryside (they too visit the villages for fish and chips and other commodities). We are now being invited to have heavy machinery working alongside our off-road riding and the bridleways are being cut off from us (and all the other horse riders in the area, of which there are a fair number) at the Stanninghall/Heggatt crossroads by the exit and entry of a lorry every six minutes, to say nothing of any other traffic generated by the workings.

Please help us to save Horstead and Coltishall from all this. You DO count. The objections should be addressed to Dept. of Planning and Transportation, Norfolk County Council, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2SG and the reference is ENV/C/5/2002/5004, Application for sand and gravel extraction at Horstead by Tarmac Southern.

With your help we can win - so thank you in advance.

Christine Benton