Sir, This letter concerns the recent building and licensing of the Heron Hall on Storth Playing Field. It is also a cautionary tale of modern times.

When the small, run-down existing Pavilion was to be replaced, a meeting was held to sell the idea of a new building to the people of the village. At this meeting, several fears were allayed by an insistence that it would be a single-storey building, for the use of the children and young people of the village only, and would not be in competition with the existing Village Hall. Funding was largely from the Quarry and the Education Authority.

The Heron Hall is far larger than envisaged, two storeys in height, rather ugly, and dominates the Playing Field, which is in the centre of the village, surrounded by housing.

Last week, despite the objections of virtually everyone within sight and sound of the new hall, young and old, an Entertainment Licence was awarded, initially for six months.

Thus the new Hall is now in direct competition with the long-established Village Hall, which the village struggles to maintain financially, when it comes to money-raising events such as clubs and other activities. The Village Hall has an Entertainment Licence.

It also means that by the provision of an Entertainment Licence for after 9pm, the new hall is now potentially an adult entertainment centre, with all the inevitable worries concerning increased traffic on narrow roads, parking problems and noise.

Of course, the new hall is a welcome resource for the school, but not for parties, private or public. Three important promises have been broken.

It seems nowadays that, both nationally and locally, it doesn't matter what one says as long as one gets what one wants. Thus a minority can override both the will of the majority and adversely affect the quality of life in the village.

The licence is for up to 12 events per year: one wonders what the next stage will be.

It is all very sad.

David Franklin Storth