Re: Mike Ahmed's hat ban is rubbish say angry neighbours, Friday, November 7.

I THINK his crazy hats are great!

He is very helpful, good at his job, happy, cheers us up - just what we need in these grim news times!

May Gurney should personally visit the site and recognise his value, rather than be corporately boring.

ANITA FAGAN

Via email

WHATthe hell is going on in our once great borough?

I have lived here since the 1930s, went to school during the 1939-1945 war, survived the Nazi bombing, went to the Far East on an army call up, but returned to the same lovely borough. Now we are plagued by knife welding schoolboys, muggers and the worst villians of all,

developers like St George and Glenkerrin.

These people are not interested in making our town better, just destroying it and its heritage.

To Councillor Stacey I say, how could you allow these people to offer the council £7m to, as they admit, 'mitigate the impact'?

To conclude, I read today May Gurney has ordered the magnificent Mike Ahmed to remove his colourful hat for (here's the laugh) 'health and safety reasons'. What are they frightened of? A fruit fly from his bananas? Where are we going?

PETER CATTERMOLE

Ealing

Thousands of letters of protest and the representations from councillors of the four wards most affected, clearly outlining the proposed developments as unacceptable and unsustainable, seemed to have no impact on the planning committee.

Indeed, one member of the committee said he had 'asked one or two young people about the developments and they were in favour'. So 'one or two' in favour trumps thousands of those against. A small committee became even smaller because the LibDem councillors were unable to vote as they had been campaigning against the proposed developments.

Major decisions which affect the whole environment of Ealing centre were therefore made by a handful of councillors. No wonder that those who care about what Ealing will be like in the years to come, and who have put so much effort into preventing ugly and inappropriate developments, left the council meeting feeling failed by a system which should listen to the voices of local people.

SUE NEW CELIA ROBERTS

Ealing