THE need for communities to move with the times is well known, but the decision by planning inspector David Rose to overturn the recommendation of his planning colleague, of Hambleton council’s planning professionals and of the countless local individuals and organisations who put forward arguments to the public enquiry is a disgrace (D&S Times, Sept 25).

It appears Mr Rose has simply cast these perfectly sensible and well presented observations to one side and paid credence to David Cameron's "dash for homes".

A lack of knowledge of local conditions was quite clearly demonstrated at the enquiry by the planning professionals speaking on behalf of the developers, Gladman, who stated, in a freely distributed information leaflet, that our town had excellent transport links. Their researchers (?) had quite obviously not turned up that public transport in Stokesley calls it a day at 6pm.

Then there is the question of the ability of health and education provision to handle the projected population influx.

Nor have local residents forgotten the impending loss of their public library.

And then there was the question of whether the local road infrastructure could cope.

The list was comprehensive and above all else accurate in giving reasons for the scheme's rejection.

The approval of this scheme now sees Stokesley confronted with the construction of about 400 dwellings, perhaps its greatest expansion ever. Surely the logic here would have been to allow the construction of the 190 dwelling White House Farm development to be completed, evaluate that impact and then to consider the Tanton proposal.

Common sense and local inputs appear to have absolutely no part to play in the inspector's revised appeal decision.

Alwyn Boulby, Stokesley