Dear Editor,
As someone who has lived in Middridge for a number of years and has had much to do with the Development Corporation in the past, I must point out some significant inaccuracies in the report in your paper on the Town’s  petition for a boundary change. I hope that they do not in any way form part of the actual petition.
Aycliffe’s application for a review does not just ask to annexe the area known as Eldon Whins.
1: It actually asks for land stretching from the footpath opposite Blind Lane all the way across Moore Lane up to the boundary between Middridge and Rushyford, an area nearly five times that of Eldon Whins.
2: Eldon Whins was originally purchased by Newton Aycliffe Development Corporation, not for housing, but to prevent what was considered undesirable development of the land for use as a fishing lake. Such purchases were common in the days of the Poulson scandal, and had to be legalised by allocating the land for housing.
3: The area does not appear to be naturally part of Newton Aycliffe. To the contrary, those who originally planned the new town arranged for a tree belt with a footpath to provide a clearly distinguishable boundary to its development so as to protect the green space for the enjoyment of all those who lived there.
Sincerely,
W J Mellors
Middridge Resident