Sir, – I must correct the impression given by Reg Collins in your article last week entitled “Hall chairman hits back at critics”

(D&S, September 17) that I have put my own interpretation on the survey report for the wooden section of Brompton Village Hall.

The survey was undertaken by a well-qualified, highly-recommended and respected firm of consulting structural engineers based in Northallerton and I have done no more or no less than quote from that report.

I have neither embellished it nor ignored aspects of it in order to help make the case for a new hall.

Reg Collins is, of course, entitled to his own opinion, but to the best of my knowledge he is not a qualified structural engineer so I am not sure why he thinks he knows better than someone who is. I leave it my fellow parishioners to decide whose opinion they accept.

On a separate but related issue, the new village hall committee has made it quite clear that it wants to retain the existing building. So I would urge the very large proportion of parishioners who made it clear that they wanted a new hall to make their feelings known to both the parish council and the village hall committee before, in these austere times, potentially significant amounts of the parish precept and grants from the lottery, or similar funding organisations, are spent on a failing building which very few parishioners seem interested in using or want.

It should also be noted that although no longer the chairman, I am still a trustee of the village hall, but for how much longer I am not sure as it has been made clear to me that as I have a dissenting view to the rest of the new committee, in that I favour a new hall, my presence is no longer acceptable.

So much for democracy!

ROBERT CARTER Brompton, Northallerton