Your front-page story Bees deal off' and editorial Bees in peril' (Times Group, June 20), is alarmist, if not scare-mongering.

It is not true that Barnet FC would have to find a new home outside the borough, if the plan to build a second stadium south of the existing ground was refused.

With the goodwill and co-operation of the new council and local residents, the club should be able to improve its existing 100-year-old ground, including the building of a new 6,000-seat stand, provided it has the money.

If the owners of Barnet FC were to take the club elsewhere, that would be their choice. Genuine fans and Underhill residents believe such a move unnecessary, and indeed want the club to stay and operate largely within its existing footprints.

Should the club still insist on leaving Barnet, then the use of the Underhill ground could be returned to the local community for its benefit, perhaps as community playing fields or by the building of a public swimming pool, gymnasium or tennis courts.

If the massive and intrusive 9,200-seat stadium and a commercial complex were to be built, it would be local residents, suffering unacceptable aggravation and congestion, who would be the real losers, rather than those fans who come to Underhill once a fortnight for a couple of hours to watch a match.

Peter Sawyer

Western Way, Barnet

June 24, 2002 16:00