SO, £300,000 of taxpayers money, our money, is to spent on opening up the Old Houghton Road to buses to provide a few minutes off the journey time from St Ives to Huntingdon in the mornings. No cost benefit analysis is available to the public if, indee

SO, £300,000 of taxpayers' money, our money, is to spent on opening up the Old Houghton Road to buses to provide a few minutes off the journey time from St Ives to Huntingdon in the mornings.

No cost benefit analysis is available to the public if, indeed, it has been done.

The county council says there was overwhelming support for this part of the scheme, but a total of only 603 - two per cent - of the consultation leaflets sent out were returned and of these only 380 were in favour of this road being re-opened to provide a bus lane - that is, approximately one per cent of the total.

Is this overwhelming support and were these respondents local to Hartford and Huntingdon? Are they aware of the loss of this important local amenity which already provides safe cycle and pedestrian tracks between Hartford and Hartford Marina?

I trust the county council will think again and save this unnecessary expense for such a small gain.

Dr ANGELA OWEN-SMITH, Chairman, Hartford Conservation Group, Old Houghton Road, Hartford