Madam, May I through your pages say how much I sympathise with villagers in the centre of Lea who will soon be faced with an estate of 39 houses thanks to Herefordshire Council's decision to grant outline planning permission to the developer.

I understand their disappointment and frustration and can only hope that every effort will be made to mitigate the impact on existing dwellings at the detailed planning stage. But at least there are one or two crumbs of comfort; and substantial crumbs at that.

The developer has committed to making a major contribution to flood attenuation works and this grant of planning permission must surely mean that Lea is now full from the development viewpoint, at least for the foreseeable future. The village has more than done its bit when it comes to satisfying Herefordshire Council's demand for more housing land.

The other three major applications for outline planning permission – one of which has potentially hugely damaging implications for the village's widely-respected primary school – must now be refused without further ado. Steve Banner, Lea