I'm not surprised to see from your letters page last week that the topic of the Growth Area remains at the forefront of readers' concerns.

As a member of the committee considering the Plan which was approved for public consultation, I considered that the overall plan with its priority concentration on addressing the regeneration of the Luton conurbation was an appropriate response to the government's requirements.

I'm also happy that the document proposes no western urban extension to Linslade. However I remain unconvinced that the proposed eastern Leighton Buzzard extension offers any real advantages to existing residents of the town. It would appear rather to threaten yet more traffic coming onto our road network which is already inadequate to cope with current traffic levels.

Taking together my support for the overall proposals ('support' in the context that the government obliges us to bring a plan forward) with my strong reservations concerning eastern Leighton Buzzard I abstained from voting on whether to approve the plan for consultation purposes.

Of course the far more important vote on whether the plan should actually be adopted will come after the public consultation.