THE Highways Agency is now resurfacing parts of the M65 and in doing so, have taken into consideration the plight of barn owls.

What puzzles me is, how do we know for sure that it's the noise level that as reduced the owl population?

Could it be that, without out knowledge, that Doctor Dolittle has visited the area for a meeting with our feathered friends?

At present, the new extension of the M65 is causing huge problems to a great many people - one of which is the amount of noise caused by traffic.

Has consideration been given to these people? I'm sorry to say, but, it hasn't, no.

A meeting was held in Darwen Vale school on February 4 for the local residents to air their views, but it was a total waste of time.

The main thing we were told was that there was no money left, and that people would just have to learn to live with the situation.

I'm a great believer in protecting our wildlife, but have we got our priorities right? I don't think so.

And I'm sure these residents will agree. They won't be hooting with laughter, but perhaps our feathered friends will.

J FISK (Mrs), Blackburn Road, Darwen.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.