Sir, – Recent publicity arising from the public meeting held on March 15 by the Osmotherley Trust (D&S letters, April 10, and 17) seem to be describing a meeting slightly different to the one that I had the dubious pleasure of attending.

Prior to this meeting, the aims of the Osmotherley Community Trust were shrouded in a level of secrecy that would have done the KGB credit. In the absence of information, rumour and speculation abounded.

Rumour had it that money was available from some bequest from a previous Osmotherley resident to purchase unspecified land for unspecified development, providing the donor was named in the development.

The trust was necessary because the parish council apparently was not allowed to carry out this kind of development itself.

Regrettably, the parish council when questioned, although supporting the trust in principle, was unable to provide details of the trust’s membership or its purpose.

The rumours suggested that a new village hall would be built with the existing hall being turned into residential flats. A meeting of the village hall committee had actually been held to seriously discuss this proposal.

There was to be a new sports hall with cafe, tennis courts and bowling green, affordable housing and residential car parking with barrier control, all commendable and all apparently supported by that other community authority, the parish plan.

At the public meeting, little information was available, there were no proposals, the meeting was uncoordinated and extremely noisy, the questions from the floor were direct but with the exception of perhaps two people out of around 200 attendees, none were as quoted vitriolic or hostile.

The Osmotherley Community Trust turned out to be a private organisation formed by Tim Swales, whose work as a county councillor can only be viewed with the highest regard, and Christie Connolly, who has significant business interests in the Golden Lion, one of three Osmotherley pubs, none of which have car parking facilities.

The trust, therefore, does not seem representative of the Osmotherley community and probably can only be regarded as property speculators.

During the meeting, we were invited to join in a “pick-andmix exercise” in choosing which of the above rumours we would like to see on one or both of two proposed fields located to the west of the village conservation area and straddling Oswaldene.

Apparently, many of the rumoured developments have since fallen by the wayside, Currently, the rumour network and the parish council is suggesting only the development of a public car park for 80-100 cars and 11 or so affordable housing units on only one of the fields to the west of Oswaldene If these developments are to be seriously considered the character of the village is likely to be substantially changed.

Is it not time for the community to be properly informed of the situation, before any further secret action is taken?

BRIAN S LEE Osmotherley.