THE proposal, or rather the intention if the money becomes available, to build an A438/M50 junction near Downend has met with almost universal disbelief.

That area is already well served by junction one and two, and the network of minor roads to the west of that area is incapable of absorbing the commuter 'rat runs' that are the inevitable result of such a realignment of the present traffic norm.

It is of course the Upton floods that are the problem, not merely the traffic disruption that occurs during the few weeks of the year when the bridge is closed.

To spend one and a quarter million pounds to alleviate the traffic problem would be a very poor investment indeed if the trucks flowed happily over the floods and the townsfolk continued to suffer. All resources must be channelled towards curing the flooding. It is after all one of the most serious problems in the district.

To have progressed this far without consultation is unforgivable, particularly when local councils at all levels are encouraged to involve the public in decision making. Even the parish council of Longdon, within whose bounds the proposed site lies, have not been consulted. To infer that the public should be kept in the dark in case they are disappointed is an insult to their intelligence.

TONY SUMNER, district councillor, Longdon Ward.