After reading the comments of Councillor Mark Brain, Labour, Hartcliffe Ward, I was filled with utter dismay. Councillors don't appear to fully understand the consequences of the things they say and do.

He says he has had letters from a number of his constituents and although he is not a football fan he is much in favour of building the new stadium for Bristol City FC in Ashton Vale. No thought about the views of people who live in Ashton Vale, or the number of City fans that don't want to move from Ashton Gate. (Is he trying to get votes?)

I also think that a new stadium will be great for Bristol City FC but not at the expense of the Green Belt. I don't know if he has spoken to the people who have planned the new stadium? I have spoken to them and have asked them the question, "Could a new stadium be built on the present site at Ashton Gate?" The answer was "Yes".

So why oh why build a new stadium on the Green Belt, which is also on a flood plain in Ashton Vale. The stadium, if built, will dwarf the houses in Silbury Road as it is planned to be 24 metres above finished ground level with another 11 metres below finished ground level and I believe a quarter of a mile long. If he wants to get a perspective of what that height looks like, I suggest that he goes down to the present stadium and stands by the side of it and compares it to a standard size house. Another idea is to go to Napier Road, Eastville, and look at how the Ikea store completely dwarfs the houses and blocks out their views from their back gardens. Would he like a building of this size built near the bottom of his back garden?

He seems to think that a new stadium will suddenly make Bristol City FC a Premier League side and help them to stay there? (I hope it does, but at Ashton Gate) He appears to forget that to get to the Premier League you need a good squad of players capable of getting there and then once there, the spending of millions of pounds on some new players to stay there.

Regarding the comments by Neil, he appears to have some idea of Ashton Vale and has looked at the plans. He has no thought about the nature that people in the area can now see in our fields but won't if the stadium is built – deer, water vole, snipe to name just a few. As for NIMBYS he also had better ask himself, whether he would like it built at the bottom of his back garden? Yes, Bristol City FC is planning to do some landscaping and a pond, but flood balancing? I very much doubt it, when you consider the amount of concrete and Tarmac that will be put down to build the stadium, the 1,000 space car park, the roads, the shops, a hotel, etc all this land is at present acting as a sponge plus some of it being completely waterlogged after heavy rain.

He also mentions the former landfill site – is he aware of what materials were dumped into this landfill site? When it was being used there weren't the checks that landfill sites presently have. What was dumped? If toxic materials are in the site, the drums could be broken whilst excavating. This would cause all of the water courses in the area to be poisoned, killing fish and other wildlife, plus maybe affecting the health of residents.

If any new football stadium is built other than where it is, it should be built on a brownfield site, away from houses near to a motorway junction with a rail link. How about a site near Avonmouth or Portbury docks?

A Pratley, Ashton Vale.

I'm wondering if Councillor Charles Bolton has wandered down North Street on a Wednesday? ("Small shops will suffer from store", September 11).

I have noticed that several shops close on Wednesdays – not just half-day but the whole day. I thought this quaint tradition of midweek closing died out 30-odd years ago.

If these shops are worried about a potential supermarket opening on Bristol City's ground at Ashton Gate, they don't seem concerned about losing trading midweek at the moment.

Customers are shopping seven days a week and they'll use supermarkets if the small independent shops can't provide a full service.

C Howard,.

Bristol City Council should think very carefully before granting Tesco permission to build on the Bristol City FC ground at Ashton Gate.

The deal may appear good: a new football ground and employment created in a new superstore, but I believe the social costs and risks are far too high.

My case:

1 There are enough supermarkets in the area (backed up by Bristol Retail Assessment 2007 and personal use and observation).

2 North Street – a recently revitalised shopping area and community – would be ruined. It would become like West or East streets – a disaster.

3 Sainsbury's on Winterstoke Road might fail. Add those jobs lost to jobs lost on North Street and there would be little or no gain in employment but much loss of community and diversity.

4 Traffic and congestion would increase, as would carbon emissions.

5 Local residents would suffer during demolition and construction and be living next to a 24-hour store with its noise and light.

6 Could Bristol City Council control Tesco? Judging by the debacle of the Airpoint/St Monica's development on West Street, I think not. A major planning breach was declared by the Local Government Ombudsman to be maladministration.

This application should be turned down.

Michael Henderson, Bedminster.