It was very depressing reading the feedback letters on the World Cup bid and City's new stadium plans in last Thursday's Evening Post.

Whenever anything good is proposed for Bristol all we seem to get are moaners damning the proposal and belittling our great City.

Take D W Trimble's comment "Bristol has always been in the second division when it comes to sport".

Does he go on to say "so what a great opportunity this is for City to fulfil its dormant potential and finally make the first division"?

No, he just goes on to say 'I urge Bristol City Football club to stay at home; we have never achieved much of a result playing away'.

How pessimistic. How Bristolian.

Professor Isaac Butterworth, who claims to be a life long City fan, reckons Ashton Gate is "a perfectly adequate ground to accommodate our fan base even if we were to achieve our dream of premiership football" and bemoans the desecration of the green belt.

I too am a life-long fan. I remember 38,000 crammed into the Gate in 1978 to see City beat Liverpool.

Having dug out my programmes from those four glorious years in the late 70s, it is interesting to note the following teams that regularly featured below us in the average attendance league: Southampton, Coventry, Leicester, Ipswich, Wolves, Birmingham, Norwich, Middlesbrough, QPR.

Many considered today to be bigger clubs than us.

I reckon that if we had a 30,000- seat stadium, then we would easily sell out when the Man Utds, Liverpools and Arsenals of this world visit, even if many are there to see them rather than us.

Maybe the Wigans would attract only 20,000 or even less but the point is, we need a 30,000-seat stadium minimum to fulfil our potential.

We were bigger than Middlesborough and Wolves once and we can be bigger again.

Ashton Gate has one decent stand (Atyeo), one decent but flawed stand (Dolman), one stand with far too many posts in the way (Williams) and the Eastend that pre dates Stonehenge! Not one money- generating executive box either!

If the likes of Cardiff, Hull, Swansea, Southampton et al can have new stadiums fit for the 21st- century, then so can Bristol.

As for building on the Green belt, where else are we going to build the extra housing needed by our expanding population? Exmoor? Dartmoor? The Somerset Levels?

Come on. Population growth has to be absorbed by the towns and cities where the necessary infrastructures are already in place and easily expanded.

In Steve Lansdown, we have a man putting £47 million of his hard- earned cash into something that will enhance Bristol and allow us to start catching up with all other cities of comparable size.

How on earth can the cash- strapped City Council and the people of Bristol possibly turn this offer down?

John Phillips, St Anne's Park, Bristol.

● THE propaganda for the council to give permission for Tesco to have a store on the Ashton Gate ground knows no bounds.

The Lib Dem party now in power in Bristol has always stood for local democracy and local people making the decisions that affect them.

Perhaps now is the time to prove that by letting the locals in Ashton, Bedminster and Southville have the final say over whether the football ground should be a housing area or a Tesco – or have they already decided in favour of Tesco?

RM Stephens, Somerset.

● I HAVE to agree with Professor Butterworth's comments that Bristol City Football Club should remain at Ashton Gate. I have changed my mind as originally I was in favour of the move.

Having considered all the angles I am now satisfied that the existing stadium could be improved to accommodate Premiership soccer at much less cost than the proposed new stadium.

There would be no green belt problems and it is fair to say that most non-football fans would be happy.

A lot of nonsense has been bandied around about the benefits of World Cup soccer. The facts are it would be a two-week wonder, the cost of which would probably outweigh the benefits.

I am astounded that the editor of our local newspaper has taken on the role of commander-in-chief of the World Cup in Bristol publicity campaign.

I would also be interested to know how many of the fans have been asked their opinions by City owner Lansdown.

I saw my first Bristol City game at Ashton Gate during the early part of 1940 so I have very great memories of the place.

Some will say I am biased, and yes I probably am, but I am 80 years old and think I am entitled to be.

Dennis Franklin, Wraxall, Bristol.

● THE Ashton Vale NIMBYS and green crusaders seem to conveniently overlook the fact that Bristol City's proposed new stadium isn't being built amongst lush, rolling meadows in the middle of the countryside but on a former landfill site backing onto an industrial estate, alongside an existing leisure complex and park and ride, linked to one of the main gateways in and out of Bristol.

They also forget to mention the extensive landscaping with trees, plants and flood-balancing pond and wildlife areas that will surround the stadium as part of the plans.

Bristol needs to show it has ambition after decades of neglect and a top quality stadium capable of hosting major events and a concert arena need to be a priority.

Neil, By email.

● THE Evening Post deserves congratulations on its reporting of campaigners' arguments against the new stadium for Bristol City Football Club and against the proposed housing development in Oldland Common covered in several editions last week.

Now we are beginning to get a proper discussion of the facts I would like to clarify two other annoying red herrings that keep cropping up.

Firstly, there is the phrase NIMBYS. This says nothing at all about the green belt campaigners and everything one needs to know about those making such slurs.

It says: "We can't repudiate your arguments, so we'll resort to name-calling."

Campaigners say: "These plans will condemn thousands of Bristolians to 20 more years of living in decaying properties, because the millions spent on 'Urban Extensions' means that less will be spent on refurbishing the city's decaying inner-city properties."

In response and with no grasp of the complexity of the real issues our opponents just shout "NIMBY".

That's the real reason why nothing seems to get done to improve our city. Politicians prefer a good slanging match to responsible public service governance.

Secondly, there's the constant assertion that campaigners are motivated by concern about a fall in the value of their property.

Well in reality, just like in the city, many campaigners living on the edge of the city, in quite ordinary villages, don't actually own their own property and it is also just as likely as in the city to be "social housing" of one form or another.

Further, if one were to talk to estate agents servicing the areas around the Emerson's Green development, I'm sure the consensus would be that house prices in adjacent areas actually go up in value.

It's to do with how much space, inside and out, that you get for your money, coupled with how long the property is likely to stay in good repair.

So now can we get on with a debate on the important issues such as whether all this extra housing is needed (it isn't), whether it is the right kind of housing for the 21st century (it isn't), whether it is in the right place for Bristol's developing economy (it isn't), whether it is legal to build where it is planned (it isn't) and whether it is sustainable (it isn't).

Ron Morton, By email.

● WHAT a well presented and balanced letter from S Wood (Open Lines, August 27). A local resident representing a view held by many.

I am a joint owner of a flat, with my son who lives at the property, in the Southville end of North Street.

It is a truly vibrant area. There are many outlets that offer services that are not offered by large supermarkets.

The baker, butcher, greengrocer, hardware shop etc. provide a quality of service, care and pride that could never be matched by Asda, Sainsbury's or Tesco.

These local businesses will always be required. I assume that all these "stop Tesco" protesters use their local shops and will therefor relate to this point of view.

As for the balloon debate, on most occasions these flights, throughout the year, tend to go over Bristol and not this newly found deer and rare species sanctuary.

The issue of wasted council tax money can be used for any argument when it comes to council policy.

The elected council will always spend money on projects we disagree with as well as those we agree with. They cannot be selective to one particular camp.

So, whichever way this debate finishes there will be winners and those who continue living in the past.

Regarding the letter from Isaac Butterworth (same date) I am also a city supporter of 50 years.

To call Ashton Gate a perfectly adequate ground is a joke.

Is he an armchair supporter or does he attend the Gate wearing rose-tinted glasses.

It may be a stadium good enough for Accrington Stanley but not for Bristol. It passed its sell by date many years ago. Mr Butterworth would still have us playing at St John's Lane. Now there's an idea.

I hope the three major proposals – the County Ground, the Mem and Ashton Vale – all succeed, however funded, and look forward to our teams providing top class entertainment in top class facilities.

I urge the people of Bristol and the surrounding areas to support progress and the World Cup bid.

Haydn Stenner, By email.

● I HAVE received a number of letters from constituents regarding the proposed development of a new stadium for Bristol City FC at Ashton Vale.

Whilst I am not a football fan myself I am very much in favour of the building of this stadium.

It will not only be good for Bristol City FC but it will be good for the whole of Bristol.

If Bristol City FC is to gain promotion to the Premiership and stay there they are going to need a stadium that has sufficient capacity to generate the necessary income to pay the players.

It would be good for Bristol as a whole if this were to happen because the presence of a Premiership football club in a city gives that city a certain status.

This is more important to Bristol than to most cities because there is a tendency among many people in other parts of the country to regard Bristol as some sort of rural backwater.

Bristol is in fact one of the core cities, which means that it is one of the seven biggest cities in England outside London. The presence of a Premiership football club might remind some people of that.

Councillor Mark Brain, Labour, Hartcliffe ward.