SIR — The proposed new roundabout at Bishops Lydeard (Free Press, March 21) does indeed give cause for concern with its inevitable impact on tourism should construction take place in the holiday season.

The nationwide and prolonged publicity concerning the adverse effect of the flooding on the county will, as Cllr Terry Venner graphically describes, also have an impact on the perceptions of prospective visitors that the countryside remains under water.

West Somerset Council leader Cllr Tim Taylor eulogises at length on the beauty of our glorious Somerset with its unique and varied attractions, an obvious magnet to nature-loving tourists. He states that tourism plays a very significant role in West Somerset's economy.

How then can he preside over a council that distributes planning permissions like confetti at a wedding to despoil the countryside he purports so fervently to admire?

What a legacy to leave future generations: acre upon acre of concrete where once trees flourished, flowers bloomed and wildlife abounded now irreversibly covered in concrete and tacky housing.

Disruption on the A358, admittedly galling, is merely temporary and fades into insignificance when compared to the permanent destruction wreaked on this once green and pleasant land by a greedy and indifferent council.

Thelma Frost,

West Somerset Watchdogs.