Your correspondent Colin Ellar thinks that Barratt Developments wanted to give Heston a 'prestigious, state-of-the-art, leisure centre' because they so loved this solid Labour stronghold.

He does not appreciate that they had a plan to recover the millions it would have cost, plus millions more, and the money would have gone into the pockets of their shareholders and directors. Perhaps Mr Ellar can work out whose pockets it would have come out of.

It is naive to think that the local people want to have the heart of Heston ripped out and stuffed full of housing for incomers.

This is the fate befalling every open space in the borough, whether large, middling or small.

More and more housing puts more and more strain on the utilities that are necessary to serve them, in particular on the roads to handle the extra cars, buses and lorries.

This policy is changing a pleasant village into a traffic jam. A bypass would have brought some relief by diverting through traffic - but after 15 years of preparation this was arbitrarily cancelled by the Labour council.

Further 'delights' planned by Labour for Heston residents include the sight and sound of jumbo jets every few minutes if the proposed third Heathrow runway (aimed straight at Heston) were permitted.

Should anyone be puzzled as to why Labour was voted off the council, come the general election they will be able to wonder why the district has returned Tory MPs again.

PETER BENDER Westbourne House, Wheatlands, Hounslow.