SIR: Last week, Winchester City Council held a “drop in” event in Kings Worthy to up-date the locals on the council’s plans for the open space which hopefully will be left, once yet more housing has been built on Top Field.

This event has been quite widely publicised for several months, via the parish council, posters etc. so I was surprised to receive a postcard advertising it, sent first- class post at a cost of 61p, by Winchester City Council which arrived the day before the event.

When councils are complaining of under- funding and not having enough money to provide services, how on earth can the expense of producing these postcards and the postage costs be justified? And why first-class not second-class and sent out earlier?

There are several thousand households in Kings Worthy; if we all had a postcard costing 61p, that adds up to a lot of money; money which could be better spent for example on improving the traffic flow and parking at the Tesco junction off Springvale Road. Planning for this appears to have gone very quiet, with finances being cited as a possible reason for not going ahead with the work as was promised in return for objections to the housing development by local people being dropped.

On a more positive note, the drop in event was interesting and well presented with local ideas clearly having been taken on board. I am more optimistic now that much of Top Field, an area of natural countryside will be left for locals to enjoy with the footpaths, flora and fauna being protected for future generations.

Karen McCleery,

Hookpit Farm Lane,

Kings Worthy