MY 23 plus years of senior management at the Three Counties Showground gave me huge experience of running events at the venue and has given me a natural desire to protect an organisation which I know brings more people to Malvern than any other single organisation.

In your edition of August 23 you printed a letter from T Cox, of The Moorlands, Malvern Wells. Several statements in that letter were not factual. The grounds are not being misused because planning permission does exist to use the venue for events not connected with agriculture in order to create income for the Three Counties Agricultural Society (TCAS), which I remind you is a registered charity.

I suggest the volume of traffic increases are not solely due to the showground events and traffic problems are a national issue in any case. T Cox is very fortunate not to live in a village near some other show venues such as Fairford or Silverstone where roads get gridlocked when an event is on.

There is a misconception that the TCAS is "coining in the money" and making huge profits. I suggest that T Cox and others who knock the society should join as members: they could then understand how the estate overheads are applied. The cost of running the site is huge.

My sympathies do, however, lie with local inhabitants who suffer noise pollution from PA systems and amplified music. I introduced stringent regulations into contracts with "showground users" in order to regulate noise.

The two previous chief executives - Lyn Downes and Chris Milnes - believed that organisers should pay to have staff officers who would monitor sound day and night. If organisers will not pay for their service, they should not be accepted. The worst offenders are horse shows with their PA running commentaries.

The loud noise that T Cox heard on August 11 was in fact from a well advertised charity event the society was holding in an attempt to recoup losses sustained during the foot and mouth crisis.

I finally point out to T Cox that I lived in Malvern Wells for many years. The noise from the showground was evident then and certainly from 1978 onwards.

I think The Moorlands was being built at the time. People moving into the area who complain about noise should have carried out better research on local activities beforehand.

TONY HALLS, Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire.